Dreaming Little Bird
by mukirome
Summary: Based on the song of the same name. Miku has been working in the licensed quarter for almost two years and she is beginning to feel like a caged bird. When Rin starts working with her, Miku begins feeling emotions she has never felt before. COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This fic is based on the song Dreaming Little Bird originally performed by Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin. This song is one of my absolute favourite vocaloid songs and my personal favourite version of the song is Rin and Gakupo's version but the fic will focus on Miku and Rin. According to the vocaloid wiki, this song is about two people living in the licensed quarter which is why this fic deals with prostitution.**

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><p><strong><span>Dreaming Little Bird<span>**

**Chapter 1**

The snow light faintly shines the shadow of the moon. Petals turn into vivid red. Falling drops make ripples in the water surface and disppear. We both are in a silent warmth.

"I'm going in," the man whispered into the ear of the naked woman who lay beneath him.

"Ah...ah...hah," the twin-tailed maiden moaned. as her companion inserted himself inside her sacred spot. It slipped inside easily, already familar with the route to take. As the two became one, the blue-haired man began thrusting his hard tool in and out of the girl, making her groan with seductive ecstasy.

"Hah...hah... ah...ugh...hah...hah...ah...ah!" the sounds escaping uncontrollably from her lips were increasing in frequency as the man roughly made love to her. She panted heavily as she her body was being pushed to its limit.

"I'm...hah...hah...coming," he gasped out, as he dumped his sticky load inside her precious zone. The young girl reaching her climax let out an ecstatic yell as her body had gained the ultimate pleasure but yet the fire heating her body burned away yet another part of her soul.

Even though they had been lovers for almost two years, they weren't in love. Instead her male companion, Kaito, was a regular client for the prostitute known as Hatsune Miku.

"Thanks for the fun yet again, my cute, little Miku," he teased, while getting himself dressed.

"Thanks for your money because that was the only part that was fun," Miku joked back. Normally, she would act more professional but despite the fact she was just a sex toy for Kaito, they had become somewhat close friends.

"Ouch, that stings but I'm a genius in the bedroom, no girl can resist this smile," he responded while showing of his sexy grin.

"If you were a sex god, then why do you keep on returning here to me?" she laughed back.

"Because I just can't bear to think of your adorable little face pouting at the thought of never again seeing the first man you entrusted yourself to." As he finished putting his clothes on he spoke, "Well, I'll be leaving now. See you in a few days, Miku," kissing her forehead goodbye.

Left alone in the empty room, the fake smile Miku had shown had vanished. No matter how much pleasure her clients gave her, it always ended the same. Out of all her regulars, Kaito was the only one who could ignite a spark inside Miku's lonely heart but she knew that, despite his claims, he would never be able to grant what she desired. Someone to heal the throbbing gap in her heart.

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><p>"Miku, can I have a word? There's someone I want to introduce to you," called out the voice of Miku's boss, as she was heading back to her room. Turning towards the brunette wearing a stunning red kimono, Miku saw an unfamilar face standing alonside her.<p>

"Miku, I would like you to meet our newest worker. Her name is Kagamine Rin. Rin this is Hatsune Miku, from today the two of you shall share a room. If you have any questions, please ask Miku, as she will be in charge of looking out for you. Now, if you will excuse me," the woman, known as Meiko, instructed before departing.

"Nice to meet you. Come, I'll lead you to our room," Miku cheerfully spoke to the blonde teenager.

"Thanks, I guess," Rin replied quietly. Miku wasn't surprised by the fact that Rin seemed blue, as most of the girls in the brothel didn't choose their occupation by choice. Miku had been the same and so she understood the feelings that Rin was emitting.

They made their way to their room. The room was mostly bare, as Miku didn't own much personal belongings and she could tell that Rin didn't exactly bring anything important either.

"Have you eaten?" Miku asked, to her new roommate, who only nodded in reply. "Then you should get some rest before your big day tomorrow," she continued, setting up an extra futon.

Laying down in the futons, placed close together, Miku said good-night to the girl next to her. Miku had already closed her eyes, when she heard Rin's faint voice, "U-um, can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away."

"U-um,,, does it hurt?" she asked slowly. It was a vague question but Miku understood. Most of the girls entered the brothel when they were around fourteen, so it was reasonable for them to have never experienced "it". Miku herself, had once asked this very same question.

"Yes, it does hurt. Especially during your first time, as you feel like your body is going to break. It gets better though, as the pain you felt on the first time won't happen again but instead your body will learn of the pleasures of two bodies joining together. While the physical pain is minimal, the wounds will scar your heart," Miku didn't want to lie to this scared little bird, so she revealed to her the harsh truth of their line of work.

"Making love with complete strangers who don't care at all about the soul inside their doll, is anguish that never fades. Sure, you get used to it but the pain is still there, waiting to torment you," She informed, darkness clouding her sweet voice. "I want you to know that I will be here for you. The other girls will be too because we have kind of become a family. It's okay to be scared but just remember that you aren't alone." Miku's hand reached out to Rin's cold hand.

"Thank you for telling me the truth. I hope that we can become friends Miku," Rin replied. As silence fell over the room, the two little birds began dreaming, as they continued holding each other's palms tightly.

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><p><strong>AN: So, thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought by reviewing it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"There, all done," Miku announced happily, as she handed Rin a mirror. "So, what do you think?"

Staring at her reflection, Rin replied, "It's...different. I can tell it's me but at the same time, it feels as if I'm looking at a stranger."

"Don't say that. I put a lot of effort into making you look cuter than you already were," Miku pouted. Miku had devoted her morning to dressing up Rin. Now instead of the shabby clothes she had arrived in, Rin was now outfitted in an exquisite golden kimono. Miku had also put her effort into giving Rin's face a flawless complexion, while styling her short, blonde hair with a large, white bow.

"I'm sorry but these beautiful clothes and this make-up, they don't suit me. I don't deserve this stuff. They belong on some girl who can appreciate these things," Rin cried with tears threatening to destroy Miku's work.

While Miku had been making over Rin, she had learnt her reasons for coming to the brothel. The Kagamine family had always struggled financially, only making enough cash to live on. When Rin's mother had died of an illness a couple months back, her father had attempted to keep the family afloat but had failed. Broke and desperate, Rin was forced to join a brothel to assist her father and twin brother financially.

"Just because your family struggles, doesn't mean you don't derserve to look good. If anything, you deserve it more than anyone. Now, look at yourself again and tell me what you really think," encouraged Miku, while carefully wiping Rin's eyes.

Gazing at herself again, Rin responded, "Your right, I do look cute but what's the point in this makeover? My clothes are just gonna be taken off anyway. So why bother?" she questioned, turning to face Miku.

She's just like how I was two years ago, Miku mused. Before she came to the licensed quarter, Miku had been an orphan fending for herself on the cold, harsh streets. After being discovered by Meiko, Miku had been given a choice. Risk another day out on the street or become a whore. Miku's choice had been easy. If selling her body meant living another day, she would gladly torment her soul.

What she didn't understand was why her instructor, Megurine Luka, had focused so much energy on turning the street chick into a refined lady. Now Miku knew.

"There's two reasons. The first is that our clients are paying us big bucks to spend time with us and they expect us to absolutely stunning woman that you wouldn't see normally going about your daily life," Miku informed Rin. "The second and best reason is, to put it simply, because it's fun! Most of us came from nothing and despise this job but being able to dress up beautifully is one of the few perks of the job."

"So, now it's time to turn your frown upside down," Miku smiled as she used her hands to make Rin smile. Rin pushed Miku away, and to shut Miku up, she relented to forcing a smile to her face but she continued her glaring towards the older girl.

"See, you finally understood the lesson," Miku said, clapping her hands together.

"Lesson?" asked Rin, confused. "I thought this was just you turning me into a doll."

"Well, it was that too but the lesson I was teaching you was to keep on smiling. It's important you at least pretend to seem like you are enjoying yourself on the job. Sometimes we get hot guys and it is super easy to enjoy yourself but most times the guys you'll do are complete pigs. So that's why all the girls learn to wear a mask to keep the clients happy. After all, the customer is always right," Miku lectured, pointing her finger towards the sky.

"Fine, I get it. I'll keep this smile plastered on my face forever," Rin replied sarcastically, grinning like a Chesire Cat. Rin's expression made Miku laugh but inside she was feeling guilty. Guilty because she was slowly transforming Rin into yet another caged bird like herself.

"What's so funny?" came a soft, feminine voice from the doorway.

"Ah, Luka, I was just teaching the newbie the basics of the job. You haven't met her yet, right?" Miku responded casually to her friend, who shaked her head in reply. "Luka, this is Kagamine Rin. Rin, this is Megurine Luka," Miku introduced the two of them to each other.

"Nice to meet you, Rin. Hopefully Miku hasn't been too much of an annoyance," Luka greeted Rin.

"Hey, I'm not a nuisance!" Miku whined.

"You are when you act like a crybaby, which you're doing now," retorted Luka while flicking Miku's forehead.

"Grr," Miku growled. Because Luka looked out for her when he joined the brothel, Luka always treated Miku like a child, which annoyed Miku to no end.

Rin, who had silently watched the two bicker, finally spoke out in awe, "You're really beautiful, Luka." Luka had a perfectly preportioned body, which accentuated the rose kimono she wore and her long, lush, pink locks. "I hope I can be half as pretty as you when I grow older," continued Rin.

"Nah, you don't want to look like Luka, Rin Rin. I mean, sure Luka is pretty and all but you the cutest person I have ever seen. Cute beats beauty any day," Miku announced, just as someone knocked on the open door.

"Sorry for interupting you absolutely fascinating discussion but I have clients for you all," Meiko said, dripping sarcasm from her voice.

"Okay, I'm coming. See you guys later," Luka said, leaving the room with Meiko.

"How are you?" Miku asked Rin, concern filling her tender voice.

"I'm...scared," Rin replied, all of her ealier bravado gone.

"It will be fine," comforted Miku, as she hugged the trembling little bird in her arms.

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><p><strong>AN: The part where Miku called Rin "Rin Rin" was not a mistake but supposed to be a nickname for Rin. So hope you enjoyed this and please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Miku, it has been awhile, hasn't it?" Hiyama Kiyoteru greeted Miku.

"Yeah, it has. I thought you must have gotten sick of me," Miku responded. Kiyoteru was a wealthy business man who was a frequent client of Miku's. He had short brown hair and wore glasses and every time Miku met him he was dressed in an expensive suit.

"Well, I guess I should make it up to you," he said, as he pushed her onto the bed that lay in one of the brothel's many bedrooms set up especially for the job.

As they locked lips, Miku could feel the cold air brush over her bare body that Kiyoteru was gropping with his warm hands. Kiyoteru was one of Miku's favourite clients, so she never had to force herself to get into the mood but today her mind was elsewhere. It was with the young girl who had become her roommate and would be giving up many first experiences right about now.

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><p>Rin was uncomfortable. She stood in an almost empty room. Other than herself, the two other things in the room was a silver-haired man, smoking a cigarette, and a large bed that she was expected to share with the person she had just encountered.<p>

"Are you an idiot or something? Hurry up and take your fucking clothes off," the man, who had introduced himself earlier as Dell Honne, ordered to the frightened Rin.

"O-o-okay.," Rin said softly, as she moved her shaking hands to undress herself. Seeing Rin doing as told, Dell began undressing as well.

_T-that thing...is supposed to go inside me but it's huge,_ Rin thought as she stared wide-eyed at Dell's sex weapon. Noticing what Rin was observing, Dell let out his first smile since meeting Rin.

"Don't tell me this is the first time you've seen one," he asked Rin. He started making his way over to Rin. With every step he took forward, Rin would take one backwards in fear. His devilish grin grew once Rin had backed herself into a wall, no longer able to delay the enivitable.

"No," Rin whispered as Dell grasped her small breast with his hand.

"What's wrong? Would you rather I place my hand somewhere else?" he asked Rin, who nodded silently in reply. "Your wish is my command," he said, as he travelled his hand down Rin's trembling body.

"No, please anywhere but there. Please!" pleaded Rin as she realised his destination.

"Sorry but you only get one wish granted," Dell spoke while gently biting Rin's earlobe.

"Ah...please st-...ah...op," Rin cried as Dell's finger inserted itself inside her. "Please...ah ah ah...stop," she continued, as she desperately tried to break away from Dell.

Rin froze as something warm landed on her mouth. _This is my first kiss,_ she thought. She could feel Dell's tongue enter her mouth and entwine with her own tongue. As much as Rin wanted to be repulsed by Dell's touch, she couldn't help herself from seeking out the wonderous new sensation she was experiencing.

As she was focused entirely on their kiss, Rin failed to realise that Dell had pushed her onto the bed. "It's time for the real fun to begin," Dell said as he released Rin's lips.

Looking down, Rin saw that the organ she was terrified of had enlarged itself since she first viewed it. As it headed towards her private spot, Rin bit her lip in fear. She could taste the bitter blood that bled into her lips but she wasn't going to beg this time because she already knew that Dell didn't give a damn about her emotions.

"Ah, ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Rin screamed out painfully as Dell became one with her. Dell paid no heed to Rin's anguished yell and just began his rough thrusting. Tears fell rapidly from Rin's eyes as her body sufferered from the greatest pain that had ever raged throughout her. Her heart was aching as well because what was meant to be beautiful moments that she were to share with someone she loved, had been stolen by this cruel, vile man.

As Dell continued moving around inside her, the pain gradually reduced and Rin was horrified at herself as she started finding slight pleasure from his movements.

A sad smile appeared on Rin's tear-streaked face. She thought about how Miku had been right about all the little things she had lectured Rin on and most importantly, she remebered how she had promised Miku that she would always smile.

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><p>As Rin walked mournfully back to her room, she found Miku awaiting her. "Surprise! I have a present for you Rin Rin," Miku cheerfully announced.<p>

As Rin took what Miku had offered her, she saw it was a bar of chocolate. "Why are you giving this to me?" Rin questioned the grinning girl.

"Because it's impossible to be sad after eating chocolate. I hate seeing you ruin your cute little face with all that pouting. Eating this tasty treat will bring back to life the adorable smile I love," replied Miku. Miku knew that she was just spouting out lies. There was nothing that would be able to heal the scars that would form on Rin's heart due to the day's events but this was the only thing she could do to help soothe Rin's soul.

"...Thanks," replied Rin. Breaking the chocolate bar in half she handed some over to Miku. "I'd feel bad if I ate it all by myself. Besides, you need cheering up too, right?"

The two girls began eating the comfort food, as they sat talking about pointless, forgettable things as they tried to forget for a moment that they were birds trapped inside a cage.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the kind of rape in this chapter. Anyway, reviews are welcome.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It had been a week sice Rin had come to live at the brothel. Miku was out shopping at the marketplace with Luka, while Rin stayed behind to entertain a customer.

Shopping was Miku's favourite pastime. Even though her money was tainted, she always enjoyed her days off spending the money she earnt by selling herself on gifts she would reward herself with and that she once believed she would never be able to obtain. Today though, she couldn't relax.

"Which one do you think suits me better?" Luka asked Miku.

"Huh?" replied Miku, confused. Seeing the necklaces that Luka was holding up, Miku answered, "The quartz one looks better."

"Idiot, like I'll trust your opinion when you weren't even paying attention," Luka said irritated, placing the necklaces back on the table they had come from. "What's wrong? This isn't like you to space out all day," Luka asked concerned for her friend.

"Nothing's wrong. Seriously, I'm fine," Miku insisted with her usual seemingly merry smile.

"You're thinking about Rin, aren't you?" said Luka.

"There's no hiding anything from you, is there?" Miku sighed.

"That's right. I know absolutely everything there is to know about you. You are my precious student after all," Luka spoke proudly. "I don't think you need to worry about Rin though. She seems a lot tougher than you."

To the average person, it would seem that Rin was stronger than sweet, smiling Miku but Miku knew better. Her smile was a mask she kept permanently up to protect herself. Miku's life had always been harsh and she had always lived for herself alone.

Rin, on the other hand, was a naive kid who had come from a loving family, despite their money issues. Miku had chosen and accepted her occupation but Rin had been forced into it to help the people she loved.

From the other girl's point of view, it seemed as if Rin had adjusted to her new role in life pretty well but Miku was the only one who saw Rin weeping her fragile heart out night after night.

What Miku didn't understand was why she cared so much about Rin. She was hardly the first new girl to arrive at the brothel and Miku had never gotten herself emotionally attached to any of them. The only explanation was that she felt like a mother hen to the little chick, the same way that Luka acted as a mother figure towards Miku.

These feelings Miku held for Rin made her heart ache. Miku had done everything she could to assist Rin with the job but at the same time she didn't want Rin to accept her current life. If she did, she would became a phoney, like Miku, who had lost her wings.

"Hey, Kaito. Don't tell me you plan on giving me a present the next time you come around to visit," Miku heard Luka talking. She noticed that Kaito had appeared at the jewellery stall.

"You know I love the both of you but I'm actually looking for a gift for someone else. Say, you ladies have excellent taste in these sorts of things, so would you help a poor guy out," Kaito replied.

"I don't like the idea of helping you find a present for the girl whose stealing you away from me," expressed Luka.

"No need to get jealous, Luka. I still intend to enjoy your company," Kaito remarked with a smirk.

"So, who is this mystery girl and what kind of things does she like?" Miku asked, joining in the conversation.

"She's a childhood friend and she lik-"

"Kaito!" interupted a girl, wearing cat ears in her short orange hair, who ran towards the trio. She was accompanied by a guy with a white cowlick. "Don't tell me you were planning on giving Miki jewellery for her birthday as well?"

"Who're they?" the boy asked, making Miku uncomfortable as he glared coldy at her with his heterochromia eyes.

"The gorgeous one is Megurine Luka, the cute one is Hatsune Miku and cat girl here is Nekomura Iroha," Kaito introduced the girls.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Luka pointed at white-haired guy.

"Utatane Piko," he stated bluntly, in a high-pitched voice. "How do you guys know Kaito?" he asked, glaring briefly at Kaito before facing Luka and Miku again.

"Business associates," Luka answered naturally.

"Geez Piko, why do you always have to get so moody whenever Kaito's around," Iroha complained.

"Shut up, Iroha. I don't let my mood get affected by him," Piko retorted, flustered.

"Kaito, you can get these guys to help you with your gift shopping. C'mon, Miku let's get going. See you guys around," Luka cut in, as she dragged Miku away from the group.

"What's up with the fast retreat, Luka?" Miku questioned after Luka stopped pulling her along. "Jealous much," she teased.

"Uh, I couldn't give a damn about that jerk. I only tolerate him because he pays well. You're too worried about the kid and being a buzz kill. Meiko asked me to pick something up, so you head back home by yourself," Luka announced.

"Thanks, Luka," smiled Miku, as the two woman parted ways.

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><p>As Miku made the trip back to the brothel, she decided to take a shortcut through a dank, dark alleyway. Because of her own shadowy past Miku never felt the slightest bit anxious about walking through deserted paths. That's why she was completely unprepared about what occured during her usual shortcut.<p>

"Mmmph," were the muffled sounds that escaped from Miku's lips as a hand clamped down over her mouth. Miku's reflexes acted instinctively as she elbowed the miscreant.

"Ugh," the person groaned in pain, as Miku moved out of reach, surprised that she had defeated the villan with tremendous ease.

Miku was stunned as she looked down at the rogue kneeling on the cold stone in agony. She recognised the short blonde hair, the bright sapphire eyes and the facial features that Miku considered adorable.

"Rin?" Miku uttered confused.

"Rin's who I'm searching for," grumbled a lower voiced version of the voice that had grown extremely familar to Miku's ears. Rising to his feet, Miku's attacker continued speaking, "I'm Rin's twin brother, Len."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, Len appeared. Honestly, I actually have no idea what's gonna happen in this fic. The only thing that I am certain of is that this will stay a Miku x Rin fic.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rin sat alone in the bedroom that she shared with Miku as Miku had gone out with Luka for the day. Miku had tried to make Rin tag along but Rin had refused because the whole idea of shopping for fun was foreign to her.

Rin was still struggling with her new life but she was slowly beginning to enjoy fragments of it. Sure, the work sucked but she had made her first friends outside of her family. She didn't admit it to Miku but that choclate bar that Miku had given to her had been the first time she had ever tasted chocolate and despite her grumbling at Miku's insistence that she put effort into her appearance, she was secretly loving playing dress-up.

Rin watched her reflection in the mirror as she applied lipgloss. Miku had spent the week giving Rin style tips and now Rin was confident about her beauty skills.

"Lu li la, lu li la," Rin hummed to herself, the lullaby her mother used to always sing to her and her twin. Miku's lessons had reminded Rin of her late mother. Rin remembered how she used to watch her mother get ready but what she loved most was the time her mother devoted to combing through Rin's short hair. Even when her mother was bedridden from her illness, she still managed to find energy to spend time with her only daughter. Rin knew she would always grieve for her mother but since meeting Miku, the pain had lessened.

Just as Rin had placed her white bow into her hair, a knock came at the door. Twisting around she saw it was Meiko. She knew by now that Meiko's appearance meant that there was a client waiting to be pleasured.

Following Meiko into the lobby, she noticed a tall, unfamiliar man standing alone. After her encounter with Dell, Rin hadn't felt that scared of her other clients because they all had a slightly better attitude than Dell but the man in front of her made her nervous.

That's because attached to his hip was a sword that clearly marked him as a samurai. Rin had never met a samurai before but she had heard plenty of horrible stories about them to be afraid.

"This is Kamui Gakupo. He is a new client here, so please take good care for him," Meiko introduced the samurai. "I have assigned you to the Sakura Room," informed Meiko. The rooms where the women conducted their work were named after flowers. This was due to Meiko having a fondness for flowers as she had grown up as the daughter of a florist. After Meiko had bought the brothel a year ago, she had reinvented the old business and that had included naming the once unnamed rooms. Well, that's what Miku had told Rin, anyway.

As Meiko started making her exit, Gakupo called out, "Wait! This girl is just a child. Don't you have someone else?"

"You requested a blonde, correct? She is a blonde and I'm afraid we don't have any other women currently avaliable that matches your tastes," Meiko replied, calmly. Rin knew that Miku deeply respected Meiko but Rin hadn't been able to connect with Meiko. She felt it was because Meiko always wore the persona of a professional person at all times, which made Rin uncomfortable. "If you have a problem, you know where the exit is," Meiko continued, before leaving the lobby.

The two stood silently in the lobby after Meiko had left. After a few uncomfortable moments, Rin broke the silence. "Um, the Sakura Room is this way. Just follow me," Rin instructed. Even without checking to see, Rin could feel that the purple samurai was following her to the Sakura Room.

As the two entered the room, Rin carefully observed the man. He had long violet hair, that he wore in a high pony, and he was outfitted in a purple kimono. He had beautiful facial features that would have made Rin believe he was a nice guy, if it weren't for the fact that he had a deadly occupation, that continued to freak her out.

The two were stuck in an awkward silence again. Rin's palms were sweating as she didn't know what she should do in this situation. As the dead noise was making Rin anxious, she broke the silence, yet again. "Um, shall we get started."

"Yeah," Gakupo whispered, so softly that Rin almost didn't hear him. Removing his sword and placing it up against the wall, he came to embrace Rin. Rin flinched at the initial contact but slowly got used to his warmth. She raised her head upwards and she could feel him inching his face towards hers. Rin inhaled the hot breath that he emited and waited patiently for their lips to meet but instead all she got was Gakupo saying, "I'm sorry. I can't do this," before being roughly shoved away.

Recovering from the fright of being rejected, Rin noticed that Gakupo was now sitting down on the bed, head in his palms. All of the eariler fear she had held for the samurai was gone. Instead, she now saw him as a depressed man.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked, slowly. She wasn't sure if he would actually respond but she decided to try anyway.

Raising his face to face Rin, Gakupo responded, "Not really. This is my first time coming to one of these places. I guess I'm just not cut out for this business of fake love."

"Why did you decide to come here, anyway?" Rin asked in concern. She knew she should stay out of other people's personal issues but it wasn't in her nature to ignore others. Her brother, Len, always teased her about how she would always save parts of her meals, so that she could feed the stray cats that lived around their home.

"A friend recommended this place. You see, I haven't been with a woman since my fiance died four months ago," he answered, sadly. "He thought that spending time here would help cheer me up and help me move on but it just doesn't seem right to sleep with a stranger."

"How did she die?" asked Rin, curiosity getting the better of her. "I'm sorry. That's too personal, I shouldn't have asked that," she spoke, hating herself for being so insensitive.

"It's okay, I don't mind. She was... killed. A classic example of wrong time, wrong place," said Gakupo in his smooth tone. He sounded calm but Rin heard a hint of sadness that was buried underneath.

"She must have been a wonderful person," mused Rin, aloud.

"She was."

"Would you mind telling me more about her?" inquired Rin, who was now seated next to Gakupo on the bed.

"Sure, I guess. Well to start, she was the most beautiful person I had ever laid my eyes upon. It's chessy, I know, to say that about your lover but still. Her hair was ridiculously long and she always tied it to one side of her head. She was a blonde, like you. I requested for a blonde as some pathetic way to pretend she was still alive," Gakupo laughed quietly.

"Right, I haven't even told you her name. She would have punched me for forgetting something as important as that. Her name was Neru Akita. You're a sweet kid, so how did you get involved in this industry?" questioned Gakupo, staring into Rin's eyes.

"My mother died. My father couldn't afford to look after both my brother and I, so he sent me to work here," replied Rin, breaking eye contact with Gakupo.

"...I see," Gakupo said, carefully. "Well, she raised a good kid," he smiled gently at Rin. Rin and Gakupo's continued discussing Neru and Rin's mother for a couple hours. This was the first time Rin had spoken so openly about her mother since her death. She couldn't talk with her dad because he was always busy working and Len had refused to even mutter her name. Rin also knew Miku wouldn't understand because Rin knew that Miku had never loved another person before. So she wouldn't understand the pain that occurs when your loved one is eternally gone.

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><p>"I just realised, I don't even know your name," Gakupo blurted out suddenly as he was preparing to leave.<p>

Rin punched Gakupo in the arm. "Neru, would have wanted me to do that, you idiot," Rin laughed, happily. "I'm Rin. Kagamine Rin," she said, making a cute pose.

"Kagamine Rin, I'll remember that name," Gakupo promised. "Thanks for today, Rin. See ya around." Rin watched the purple samurai leave the brothel. Even though they hadn't had sex, he had still paid her. Rin was against it but he insisted, so Rin had accepted it as a gift from her new friend.

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><p>When Rin returned to her room, she saw Miku siting by the window, gazing at the outside world. As Rin made her way over, she noticed that Miku had failed to notice Rin's presence. It seemed like Miku was deep in thought about something.<p>

"I'm back, Miku! Did you miss me?" Rin announced to the girl who had lept out of her seat, in shock.

"What are you doing? Were you trying to kill me!" Miku questioned displeased after realising the intruder was just Rin.

"Kill...you?" Rin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm serious you know. My heart could have stopped from the massive fright you gave me. Please Rin Rin, don't ever do that again," pleaded Miku desperately.

"Fine, fine. I vow to never scare you again, happy? Besides, what were you doing? Did you get into a fight with Luka or something?" asked Rin.

"Huh, everything is fine with Luka. Why would you think otherwise?" Miku responded, tilting her head sideways.

"Because the two of you spent the day together and I come back and you seemed upset about something. So upset, you didn't couldn't even tell I had come back," said Rin.

"Well I was just thinking about something. I do have a brain, you know and brains think! Anyway, I'm sleepy now, so I'm gonna catch some beauty sleep now. Night, night Rin Rin," Miku answered, before jumping into her futon.

Rin entered her futon as well. She chose not to force Miku to tell her what was troubling her because she could see that Miku didn't want to reveal to Rin whatever was bothering her. So if Miku wouldn't tell her, Rin would help Miku the only other way she could.

Miku flinched as she felt Rin take her hand into hers. Miku had held Rin's hand during their first night together to comfort her and now Rin was the one comforting Miku. Miku smiled to herself as the two little birds drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter was pretty heavy on the Rin and Gakupo moments. Personally, I'm a huge fan of RinxGakupo because I think their voices work beautifully together. If you are worried that this fic will turn RinxGakupo, I promise it will stay MikuxRin. Oh, and the "Lu li la" tune that Rin sang is from mothy's Clockwork Lullaby series. You'll probably find out what Len wanted in the next chapter, maybe.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"What exactly are we doing here again?" a girl with peach coloured hair, questioned her companion.

"Just keep watching. He should appear soon," her male partner, informed her.

Rolling her eyes, the girl said, irritated, "Look, this is a complete waste of time. Just because you hate his guts doesn't mean he's doing anything dirty." The two friends were standing in a corner of the licensed quarter, observing one of the many brothels that had set up home in the area. The girl's friend had insisted that her boyfriend was playing around in this specific brothel but the girl didn't believe him. She trusted her boyfriend, so she was positve that he wouldn't cheat on her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" she blurted out as she recognised the man who had just entered the brothel. "Did you know about this?" she glared at the boy standing next to her.

"N-no, I had no idea that he would be here," he replied, bewildered at the sight of the man he was not expecting in a million years to see. "Huh, Miki? Where are you going? Hey, wait up!," he chased after the girl who had stormed off, rage coursing through her after witnessing the betrayal of a man she had once trusted.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Miku, you are as stunning as ever," the man planted a kiss on Miku's hand.<p>

"Good to see you too, Kiyoteru," Miku greeted her client, as he entered the brothel. Miku had been standing by herself in the lobby after seeing Rin off. Meiko had requested Rin to go pick up some supplies from a certain store. Miku was worried about the youngster, not just because her destination was pretty creepy but also because she was afraid Len would appear before Rin.

* * *

><p>"I'm Rin's twin brother, Len," was what he had told Miku. Miku didn't doubt him as he was the spitting image of Rin and Rin herself had mentioned him by name a couple of times.<p>

"What do you want from Rin?" Miku had asked in trepidation.

"You're actually asking a stupid question like that?" Len laughed. "She is my sister. She needs to be with me. We've always been together and now I've lost her. She's suffering doing God knows what and I get to continue in the life I've always lived. I'm the older twin. I'm supposed to be the one to protect her," Len's voice cracked and Miku watched as tears spill from his eyes.

"Rin's safe, so you don't need to worry," Miku attempted to console him.

"What part about living in a brothel is safe, huh?" Len shot back, bitterly. Watching Len's emotions raging, confused Miku. She didn't understand why he was trying to get back to Rin. Shouldn't he be pleased that by Rin working, he would still have a warm home to live in and a meal to fill his stomach everyday? The only concepts Miku understood were how to survive. The whole idea of people doing whatever possible to protect their family baffled her because the people she had sworn never to call family again, had only abused her.

"How can you protect her? Do you call starving yourselves protecting? There's no other way for you to earn the money you need," Miku spoke, coldly.

"I can get a job. I'll work hard to make sure she doesn't go back to that lifestyle," insisted Len.

"No job that a kid with no qualifications or experience will even come close to the amount of money that Rin is able to obtain in one night. You would have to exhaust yourself and that wouldn't make Rin happy either," replied Miku, as her twin tails danced in the breeze.

"You're right. There's nothing I can do to save Rin," Len muttered, quietly, head face down. Looking up at Miku, he asked, softly, "Are you Rin's friend, Miku?"

"How do you know my name?" Miku blinked in surprise. She didn't remember mentioning her name at all during their conversation.

Len answered, "I overheard you and that pink chick, Luka, talking. That's also why I followed you because I heard you two mention Rin's name."

"Oh," Miku sighed, a bit freaked about finding out her privacy had been breeched. "Well, now that things are settled, I'll be going," Miku turned her back on the boy.

"Wait! I know that I can't help Rin but can I see her? Please, I want to see her? Can you take me to her?" Len pleaded to Miku.

Keeping her back turned, Miku said, "Why? All seeing you will do is make her suffer more. Sure, right now, Rin would be excited and happy to see you but what about later? You will keep coming to her, telling her about the life you are leading. About the choices you are allowed to make. One day, you will meet some cute girl, settle down and start your own family. Then, what will happen to Rin? Rin's choices in life were stolen from her. She won't be able to find love because who would be able to love a used doll? Rin will grow to resent you because you have a future that she no longer has!" Miku uttered, emotionlessly.

"Even so I..." Miku heard Len's mournful voice.

"If you really care about Rin, you will leave her alone," Miku ordered, before dashing away from the young boy, her eyes strangely moist.

_What am I doing?_ Miku thought. _Why am I crying for someone else? This isn't like me? Why am I trying to protect Rin? Am I really trying to defend her? Maybe, Len is right and it is better that they are together? Maybe, I'm just jealous and I want to keep Rin all to myself? No! I don't get jealous. I don't live for anyone else's sake but my own. That's the only way to live. That way I won't get my heart broken again but then why won't these tears stop falling?_

* * *

><p>As she banged her fist on the door in rage, the girl known as Miki, was getting annoyed with her companion, Piko.<p>

"Look, Miki is this really such a good idea?" Piko asked her, flustered.

"What are you saying? That I should lie to my sister about that jerk! She has a right to know what he's been doing behind her back," she retorted back.

"What are you going to do about Kaito?" Piko asked, anxiously.

Glaring into Piko's different coloured eyes, Miki angrily said, "Nothing. I'm sick of hearing you trash talk him. He wasn't at the brothel because it was your pathetic attempt to try and break us up. If you ever say anything awful about him again, I think we need to reconsider _our_ relationship." Continuing to stare down Piko, Miki knocked on the door again but instead of hitting the hard wood, she hit only air. Turning, she saw that the door had been opened by a little girl with her brown hair tied into two pigtails.

"Um...Miki, are you okay?" the child asked, trembling at the fury that Miki was emitting.

Miki forced a blissful smile on her face, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry if I scared you, Yuki. Is your mama home?" she questioned her niece, Kaai Yuki.

"Yup, she's home. Is that why you're here?" Yuki asked Miki, who nodded in reply. Miki and Piko entered the large, Western-style house and followed Yuki as she lead them to the room her mother was in. Miki waved goodbye to the two as she entered the room alone.

"Ah, Miki, I wasn't expecting to see you until tomorrow," spoke the mature voice of Miki's older sister.

"Well, something important came up that I needed to tell you about," Miki told her sister, now nervous about the best way to tell the woman standing in front of her. Miki silently observed the tall, golden haired woman, known as Lily, fold up the freshly washed laundry.

"So, what is this important thing?" inquired Lily.

"Has everything been okay between you and Kiyoteru? Have you guys been having problems or something? Miki nervously questioned Lily about her marriage.

"Everything has been the same as usual with Kiyo and I. There's been no problems at all," Lily replied, casually.

"No arguments at all?" prodded Miki.

"No, none at all. Why are you asking about my marriage, anyway? I thought you had something important to tell me?" Lily's gaze made Miki uncomfortable. She didn't want to be the bearer of bad news to the sister she admired dearly but she couldn't let Lily continue living a lie.

"Earlier today, Piko and I saw Kiyoteru enter a brothel," Miki informed Lily. Lily didn't respond. She didn't even move a muscle as she stared at Miki, as stil as an ice sculpture. Suddenly, the ice melted and Lily crashed down onto her knees, her eyes pouring. Miki ran towards the sobbing woman and silently comforted Lily in her arms.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I suffered writer's block because of Len. I made him appear in chapter 4 and then I forgot why he suddenly appeared. It didn't help when I wrote the troubled Miku scene in chap 5 because the only thing I could think of that would work with that scene, was Miku killing Len and I really did not want to turn Miku into a yandere. So, that's why I didn't update this fic for awhile.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Is anyone here?" Rin nervously called out to the dimly lit store. Wandering deeper into the shop, Rin grimaced at the grotesque objects placed on the store shelves. Meiko had asked Rin to run an errand to pick up some supplies from this particular store. Rin was terrified about what she would be bringing back to the brothel now that she knew her destination had been an occult store.

"Can I help you?" Rin jumped as a cold hand grabbed her shoulder. Turning around, she saw an expressionless woman, her long pale hair tied into a low ponytail with a large raven bow.

"Uh, yeah. I was sent here by my boss. She said that she just wanted the usual stuff. Oh, my boss' name is Meiko, by the way," Rin told the woman.

"Meiko, huh? You're awfully young to be working in that place but whatever, that's none of my business. Feel free to look around while I prepare her order," the woman instructed.

"So what exactly does Meiko buy from this store?" Rin asked, full of anxiousness and curiosity, as she watched the worker place something into a brown, paper bag.

"Are you afraid?" the woman grinned, devilshly at Rin. Seeing Rin shiver, the woman continued, "Meiko is a boing customer because she is a non-believer. She only shops here because she knows that this is the best place to stock up on incense and candles in the whole city."

"Oh, that's a relief," Rin sighed. Feeling an evil glare directed towards her, Rin stammered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you if you believe in the occult."

"Well, as the owner of this store, it would be weird if I weren't a believer, now wouldn't it?" the lady remarked, to which Rin quickly nodded her head in reply. Walking up to Rin, the owner held out her hand, "I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Yowane Haku and I am a kitsune-mochi."

Rin shook Haku's hand fearfully. She had heard various tales of people who had managed to form a deal with a kitsune (fox) and would use them to do their bidding. Rin was highly skeptical of the exstence of fox witches but regardless, she prayed not to get on the bad side of this woman with the errie atmosphere.

"Here you go," Haku said, handing Rin the paper bag that Haku had been placing objects into. Paying Haku, Rin marched out of the dark, creepy store and back out onto the bright streets.

As Rin made her way back to the brothel, she accidentally bumped into a tall, intimidating looking guy. "I'm sorry," she apologised as she continued onward but the man had grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Well, aren't you a little cutie," he grinned, his free hand rubbing against Rin's cheek. "You bumped into me and I think you owe me more than just a couple of words," he laughed, his two pals laughing as well. Rin tried to pull herself away from the men who radiated the same aura that Dell had but her tiny body couldn't compete with her advesary's brute strength. Rin watched as the onlookers were averting their gazes and letting the thugs drag Rin away. Please someone, help me! she prayed, silently.

"Let her go," came a familiar, calm voice, as a sudden flash of silver came across Rin's vision. Before her was the violet samurai, Gakupo, his sword pointed at the thug holding Rin.

"Shit, a samurai. Here take the girl, just don't kill us," the men pleaded, thrusting Rin towards the samurai, before sprinting away like frightened little lambs.

"You okay, Rin?" Gakupo asked, helping Rin get up from the ground she had fallen down on.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you," Rin replied, gratefully. She bent down to pick up the supplies she had bought, that she had dropped during her brief ordeal.

"Were you at Haku's?" the samurai questioned while handing Rin a bag of incense that had layed on the ground.

"Do you know her?" blinked Rin in surprise.

"She's an old friend. Her and Neru were close, you see. Actually, I was on my way to visit her. If she said something strange, don't let it get to you. Haku has always been a bit of a sadist and she gets a thrill from making people uncomfortable," Gakupo answered.

"So you're into the paranormal as well?" Rin inquired, casually.

"Nah, that's Haku's thing. I only believe in things I can see with my own eyes. Maybe if I had ever seen a fox around her, I would believe but Haku apparently prefers not to use her fox for petty purposes," remarked Gakupo. Staring at Rin, Gakupo said, "What do you like to do for fun, Rin?"

Rin wasn't sure how to answer. She had never really had a special hobby that interested her and besides, entertainment cost money. There had never been spare money for her to waste when she still resided with her family and since becoming a working girl, she hadn't exactly had a time to relax.

When Rin failed to respond, Gakupo continued talking, "A friend of mine is throwing a party tomorrow. I want you to come. I know that you are busy with your job and all but you deserve time to enjoy yourself. Life is short after all," Rin heard the sadness in his tone as she understood that he was thinking of the late, Neru.

"Can I bring some friends?" Rin asked the samurai.

"Sure, that's no problem," he smiled down at her, his long hair waving around in the wind.

* * *

><p>The samurai and the teenager were clueless that someone was secretly observing them. Despite being told by Miku to stay away from Rin, Len had decided to visit the brothel eariler that day. However, instead of entering the building in search of his twin, he had watched the building from a safe distance away.<p>

Len had been terrified to be reunited with his little sister. He was afraid that maybe her personality had become twisted because of what had happened to her and that he would no longer feel that she was the same Rin he had cherished but he was more scared of if Miku's words would come true. If seeing Rin meant she would later suffer harder in the future, Len didn't want to be responsible for that.

When Len had seen Rin leave the brothel, his instant reaction was to follow her and keep a watchful eye on her, in secret. When the thugs had ambushed her though, Len was prepared to rescue Rin but then the samurai had appeared.

For some reason, it seemed like Rin knew her savior. Len clenched his teeth when he realised that there was only one way for Rin to have an adult colleague. He resisted the urge to go and punch the man, who had most likely been pleasured by the touch of Rin's developing body.

Len decided then and there, that he would follow Miku's orders to stay away from Rin but he swore to himself that even if he couldn't be by Rin's side, he would protect her from the shadows.

* * *

><p>"A party?" Miku tilted her head at the words Rin had spoken after returning from her errand.<p>

"It sounds like fun. Count me in, Rin," Luka enthusiastically spoke.

"Luka, we don't even know who this Gakupo is? I don't know if it is such a good idea to go to this party. Besides, this Gakupo isn't even the one throwing the party, anyway. We will probably just be unwanted," muttered Miku.

"This isn't like you to decline fun. You have been acting odd all day. Let me guess, it's that time of the month," Luka teased Miku.

"Gah, shut up, Luka! It's not that time of the month and I'm not acting weird," Miku rapidly hit Luka, her face blushing bright red. "Fine, I'll attend this party if that's what you want, Rin?" Miku spoke after calming down.

"Yeah, it is. I wouldn't want to go without you guys," Rin cheerfully smiled at the two older women.

"Well, I'm gonna take a bath now," Miku uttered as she left the room. As Miku headed to the brothel's bathroom, Miku's thoughts were focused on Rin.

_Why does she want to attend that party? Because Gakupo invited her? I asked her to come shopping with me the other day but she refused. What's so special about this man? Why am I so mad? This shouldn't bother me at all._ Miku hated to admit it but she knew that she couldn't keep denying it any longer. She had finally gotten herself emotionally attached to another person. She had grown feelings for Rin and now she was experiencing the bitter flavour of jealousy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This MikuxRin fic hasn't really had that much yuri in it, has it? Well it will, eventually.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Wow, looks like the samurai has friends in high places," Luka admired the large Western-style mansion, that was their destination.

"Rin, are you okay?" Miku asked in concern, seeing the nervousness on Rin's cute face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just wasn't expecting that Gakupo's friend would be rich. I know that I don't belong in that kind of world but I should just pretend and smile, like you said, Miku," Rin recited the lesson that Miku had insisted she always do, flashing Miku a smile.

"It's not too late to back out," Miku suggested. Miku understood she had grown attached to the blonde but she still hadn't completely accepted her emotions. Yet, Miku's cold heart was being heated up by the uncomfortable, unfamiliar feelings of guilt and jealousy that flared inside. Guilt at watching Rin taking another step closer into becoming a caged bird, like herself, and jealousy that Rin wanted to spend time with someone other than her.

"It's already too late," declared Luka, grabbing Rin and Miku's hands and dragging them towards the house. "We already accept cash from these kind of people for our special services, so why shouldn't we party with them and actually try to enjoy ourselves?"

Reaching the front entrance, Luka knocked her clenched fist against the hard wood. A pretty girl with peach coloured hair opened the door and said, "Can I help you?"

"We heard that there was a party here. You see, we were invited by Kamui Gakupo," Luka answered the girl.

"Gakupo invited you, huh? Well, the more the merrier, right? I'm Miki, by the way, and this party is to celebrate my birthday," she introduced herself, a joyful smile on her face and letting the three women inside. "So, is one of you Gakupo's girlfriend?" she inquired, full of curiosity.

"No, Luka and I haven't even met the guy," Miku grumbled out, immediately. Not that it sounded like a grumble to anyone except Miku. The three women had heard Miku's adorable voice answer in a polite manner.

With a confused look ruining her pretty facial features, Miki wondered, "Luka?"

"That would be me," Luka raised her manicured hand. "This brat here is Miku..." Luka flicked Miku's forehead, to which Miku responded with silent death stares. "...and the kid here is Rin."

"How do you know Gakupo, Rin?" asked Miki, as she lead them to the room the party was being held in.

"Um, well, we met only recently but we got along well because we could relate to each other, I guess. You, see, I lost my mother recently and Gakupo told me about Neru. We were just able to comfort each other," Rin answered, honestly, while avoiding the fact that they had met in a brothel.

Beneath the blissful smile Miku always wore, her jealousy had intensely ignited itself, from listening to the way Rin spoke about Gakupo, like he was a hero or something.

_Rin and I have been sharing a room together for a while now and Rin has never spoken to me about her dead mother in detail. Yet, she was able to reveal everything to some guy she only knew for like five minutes! Why? Why couldn't Rin trust me? I thought that we had already become friends? So, why won't she express her feelings to me?_

Miku was asking herself these questions but she felt like she already knew the answers. The reason Rin chose to confide in Gakupo was probably because he was sincere, unlike the caged teal bird.

_He probably smiles when he is happy, laughs when he finds something amusing and cries when he is upset. I, on the other hand, have a permanent mask glued to my face._ Miku couldn't remember the last time she had exhibited a real expression. She always smiled. No matter how much she wanted to scream out her painful anguish, she had learnt to suppress everything with a smile. Even now, a fake smile was plastered on her face, betraying the real feelings kept buried inside.

* * *

><p>When Len had witnessed Gakupo rescue Rin the other day, he had heard him invite his twin to a party. That was why he had waited around the brothel from the early hours and had stalked the three women to this destination.<p>

Now, Len stood directly outside the mansion, pondering how to get inside. He had already tried opening the door but it was locked. He thought about claiming that he had been invited but he intended to keep his presence as secret as possible.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Len found himself face to face with a beautiful girl, her short green hair, slightly longer in the front.

"Huh, who are you?" she yelped out, not expecting to encounter someone standing on the other side of the door. "Are you here to celebrate Miki's birthday?"

"Well, it looks like it's ending, so I think I'll just leave," Len started walking away.

"Wait, I'm not leaving because the party is ending. I was asked to run a last minute errand for the party. That's why I'm heading out, right now," she informed the retreating boy.

"I see. Then I guess I should go inside already," Len began moving towards the house again. "Thanks," he casually remarked, as he passed the girl.

"Gumi," she uttered, out of the blue.

"Huh?" Len turned towards her, his sapphire eyes, blinked in bewilderment.

"Gumi, it's my name," she flashed Len a bashful smile.

"I'm Len," mentally cursing himself for giving out his actual name. "I guess I'll see you around then, Gumi."

"Definately. I have to run now but hopefully we can meet again," Gumi dashed away, before Len could notice the growing redness of her cheeks.

* * *

><p>"C'mon, I'll introduce you guys to the best boyfriend ever," Miki declared, as Miku, Rin and Luka followed the enthusiastic girl.<p>

They were now in a large room, decorated with large banners that read, "Happy Birthday Miki!" and a huge crowd of people, all dressed to impress. Each of the girls had a different reaction to the many sights that surrounded them. Rin was extremely nervous and anxious at being encircled by so many people who came from an entirely different universe from her. Miku was continuing to fake smile, to hide the madness inside her and Luka was excited and looking forward to being thoroughly entertained.

"Kaito, I want you to meet some people," Miki called out to a blue haired man, who choked on his drink after laying eyes on Miki's new friends, whose eyes had also widened in surprise. "Kaito, are you okay?" came Miki's sweet voice, fraught with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her, after recovering from his coughing fit. Holding out his hand towards Miku, Kaito introduced himself, "So, you're friends with Miki, huh? I'm her boyfriend, Kaito and you are?"

Miku raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at Luka, who shrugged her shoulders, her eyes lighting up in amusement, telling Miku just to play along with Kaito's ploy.

Shaking his hand in a firm handshake, Miku responded, cheerfully, "Miku. Hatsune Miku."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I finally updated this fic. I'm sorry for the huge delay and hopefully the next update won't take as long as this one did.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

After Miku, Luka and Rin introduced themselves to Miki's boyfriend, Kaito, he asked them, "Would you ladies like me to fetch you all some drinks?"

"Wow, your boyfriend is such a gentleman," Luka praised to Miki, with only Miku, Kaito and Luka, herself, noticing the sarcasm in her tone. "I'd love it if you brought us something to drink."

"Then, I'll be right back," he responded. Tightly grabbing a hold of Miku's wrist, Kaito announced, "Miku's going to come and help to carry the drinks."

"Hey, jerk, that hurts," complained Miku, as Kaito dragged her away from the others. Instead of pulling her towards the drink station, Kaito brought her to an empty hallway, where he finally let go of Miku's wrist.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled at the girl rubbing the painful, red marks imprinted on her flesh.

"We were invited," Miku answered, honestly, her already foul mood getting worse.

"Who exactly would invite you?"

"Who wouldn't want to invite someone as cute as me?" Receiving a glare from Kaito, Miku finally told him, "Some guy called Gakupo invited Rin, so, Luka and I chose to tag along."

"Rin? That's the name of that blonde? I assume she works at the brothel with you but how does Gakupo know her? Don't tell me he's a client," Kaito shot off a bunch of questions. Shaking his blue head, he stated, "Look, I don't actually care if you are here or not but you better keep your mouth zipped about your occupation, got it? Miki is not to know about our relationship."

"I wasn't intending on telling but I promise your dirty, little secret is safe with me," vowed Miku.

"Fine, then let's hurry and get the drinks," Kaito started walking away and Miku followed him, back into the crowded room. As she tried to not lose sight of Kaito, Miku failed to watch where she was going and accidentally tripped, when she bumped into a man, outfitted in a business suit.

"I'm sorry about that, here let me help you up," a surprisenly familiar male voice said and Miku spotted a hand floating before her eyes.

Taking the offered hand and rising to her feet, Miku responded, "You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who bumped into you so...Kiyoteru?" recognizing the face of the man, whose palm she held.

Bewilderment covered Kiyoteru's expression, as he stammered out, "Mi-Miku, wh-what are y-youu doing here?"

Before Miku ever got the chance to answer him, a beautiful blonde lady rushed towards Kiyoteru and slapped him across the face, with all of her strength.

Scrowling, Kiyoteru questioned the beauty, "What the fuck was that for, Lily?"

"Don't pretend you don't know," the woman, called Lily, retorted. "I know that you have been cheating on me with this whore!" she furiously declared, pointing her manicured finger towards Miku.

Stunned that this stranger apparently knew Miku's identity, Miku placed a smile on her cute face and remarked, "I don't know what led you to this massive misunderstanding but it really is just a misunderstanding."

"Liar," Miku turned towards the sudden voice that joined the conversation and saw a white haired guy, whose name, if she remembered correctly, was Piko. "I know you work in that brothel, downtown, but you can keep on denying it, just like the disgusting hooker you are," he spat.

"Piko, shut up and stop accusing my friend!" Miki defended Miku, as she appeared beside Piko. "Lily, please, don't make a scene. He's not worth it," she begged the older woman, aware that all the guests were now transfixed by the storm that was brewing.

Ignoring Miki's pleas, Lily shifted her gaze back to Kiyoteru, "How could you cheat? We have a daughter! Don't you care about her? Don't you care about me? You swore that you would always love me and yet, you..." Lily couldn't finish her sentence, as she crumbled to the floor, wildly sobbing.

"What's all the commotion?" Kaito inquired, as he had backtracked when he had noticed that Miku was no longer following him.

"Hey, it's Kaito's friend, Miku, right?" the joyful girl, Iroha, called out, entering the stage, alongside Kaito.

"Iroha, what are you saying? Kaito and Miku only met today," Miki insisted, as she bent down to comfort Lily with a hug.

"Uh, no they didn't. Piko and I saw them together at the market, not too long ago. That pink haired chick mentioned something about them working together or something along those lines."

With a puzzled look written all over her pretty face, Miki asked, "Kaito, tell them the truth. You first encountered Miku today and Miku, please tell everyone you aren't a prostitute."

Solemnly staring at his girlfriend's face, Kaito eventually averted his gaze to his black shoes and murmured, "I'm sorry, Miki but Piko's right about me."

Miku never heard the rest of this depressing scene because Luka grabbed her from behind and dragged her away, telling her, "Let's find Rin and get out of here before we get caught up in their drama."

"Smart plan. Hey, wait, why isn't Rin with you?" Miku wondered.

"We got separated," stated Luka, matter of factly. "Look, there's Rin's bow," Luka pointed. Heading in that direction, they discovered Rin with a purple haired man.

"What's going on over there?" Rin asked, refering to the commotion in the centre of the room.

"We will tell you later but we have to dash out of here, pronto," Luka informed the blonde.

"Okay," she nodded her head. "Bye, Gakupo," Rin waved goodbye to the man and chased after the departing Luka. As Miku also departed, she took her first glance at Gakupo. The man who she despised, simply because Miku viewed him as her rival for Rin's affections.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this Miki/Lily/Kiyoteru/side character arc has ended and the next chapter will finally go back to focusing on the main cast of Miku, Rin, Gakupo, Len, Luka, etc. I know my updates of this aren't the fastest but I have no intention of abandoning it. So, anyway, thanks for reading and also thank you to everyone who has reviewed. ^-^**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was the day after the eventful party and Rin was sitting in her room, running a comb through her short locks. Miku and Luka were already hard at work entertaining their clients, while Rin was perfecting her looks, as she waited for her own client.

Observing her reflection in the mirror, Rin could see the serious gaze her blue eyes shone. Nothing Rin did could wipe away this persistent, nagging feeling trapped within her body.

She had been acting like this ever since leaving the party. She knew it wasn't due to finding out about what scumbags Kaito and Kiyoteru were but because of something else. Rin could of sworn that she had briefly spotted her twin brother, Len, there, while she had fled, with Miku and Luka.

She knew that it must be a mistake, though. After all, it was impossible for Len to have been in such a wealthy place. If her family were the type to associate with those rich folks, then Rin wouldn't be in her current situation. So, the guy she saw had to be just some random stranger but her head was still clouded with doubt.

Placing the comb onto the table, Rin retreived her favourite bow and gently attached it to her head. Satisfied with the way the mirror reflected her appearance, she departed from the room and headed to the lobby.

After a few seconds of arriving in the deserted lobby, the front entrance opened and a blissful smile escaped onto her face, when she recognized who walked in.

"Gakupo, what are you doing here?" she greeted, as she came towards him.

"Hey, Rin, I just wanted to apologize about what happened, yesterday. I invited you so that you could have some fun, for once but that, obviously, didn't pan out. I should of forseen what would occur, though, seeing as the warning signs were flashed right before my eyes, when Kiyoteru recommended this brothel, to me," the purple, samurai sighed.

"There's no reason for you to apologize, Gakupo. After all, you did nothing wrong. If anything, I should say sorry because I kind of wrecked your friends, they are your friends, right?" Rin halted her speech and Gakupo silently answered her question with a slight nod of his head. "Well, I wrecked their lives. If I hadn't been there, they would still be happy."

"No, it was a good thing you were there. Kiyoteru may be an old, close friend of mine but Lily definitely doesn't deserve some jerk who can't treat her with the correct amount of respect. Sure, right now, I'm sure Lily is heartbroken, Miki too but eventually they will move on and hopefully find real happiness," Gakupo wistfully remarked.

"But...real happiness doesn't exist. It's just an idealistic fantsay," murmured Rin, softly.

"True but that's why you need to search for happiness in the situation you find yourself in. You loved your life with your family despite being poor, right? Even with being forced to reside in this brothel, you've managed to find some joy because of those girls you were telling me about, yesterday," responded Gakupo, as he smiled down on Rin.

"You are way too optimistic," Rin rolled her eyes but she was unable to stop the sweet smile from breaking out on her face.

Gakupo was always able to easily evoke cheerful emotions out of Rin. It was unusal for her to be this comfortable around someone who failed to share the same blood as her. Even though she had grown extremely attached to both Miku and Luka, she still wasn't able to lift down all her barriers around them but for some mysterious reason, she felt perfectly at ease with Gakupo.

Suddenly, Rin realised that Gakupo's powerful palms grasped her small shoulders and that their faces were nearly touching. The moment faded immediately after, though, as Gakupo pulled away when he heard the sound of the door opening.

"What the hell are you fuckin' doing here, bastard?" the new arrival growled.

"It's good to see you, too," was Gakupo's calm reply.

Recovering from her weird moment with Gakupo, Rin recognized the man who had just entered the brothel as Honne Dell, the man who had stolen her virginity.

Since that time, Dell had been a regular customer of her's. She was hardly fond of him but after spending so much time in his company, she had learnt to tolerate his despicable attitude. What confused her now was that he seemed to be aquainted with Gakupo but Rin had absolutely no clue as to why they would be familiar with each other, seeing as the samurai's pals were the rich and wealthy kind, not pigs like Dell.

"Do you guys know each other?" quizzed Rin.

"He's Haku's brother," informed Gakupo. "He and I are hardly buddies, though, because he holds a grudge against me because Neru chose me instead of him."

Rin instantly pictured the creepy store owner in her head and mentally berated herself for not picking up on the resemblances between Haku and Dell earlier.

"It's great that you understand that I despise your guts and that even squinting at you makes me want to mash up that goody-goody face of yours but I have better things to do with my time. C'mon, Rin, let's get started," Dell ordered, beginning to head towards the pleasure rooms.

Rin took a few steps after him but was halted by the arm Gakupo raised in front of her," Dell, this is low, even for you," he said.

Glaring his silver eyes at the samurai, Dell retorted, "Wow, I guess that makes you a giant hypocrite then. If you are allowed to come and fuck the whores in this place, then I should receive no preachy complaints from a bastard like you! Hurry the fuck up, Rin!"

"I've never slept with any of the women here and Rin doesn't have to follow you anywhere," Gakupo said, his voice more serious sounding than usual. Softening his tone, he looked into Rin's sapphire eyes and told her, "You don't have to spend time with him. I have nothing planned for the day, so you can service me instead and I'll compensate you with money that you would've earned today."

"Okay," Rin answered but she was anxious at what Dell's reaction would be.

Loudly clapping his palms together, five times, Dell angrily remarked, "You think you are so grand, don't you, Gakupo? It's like you make it your life's mission to torment me. First, by stealing Neru from me and now you're taking my whore."

"Neru was never yours to begin with and stop treating Rin with disrespect," Gakupo growled back.

"Whatever you say," Dell smirked, as he seemed like he was getting ready to depart. Instead, he flung his fist into Gakupo's head, which the samurai was luckily able to evade.

Dell didn't stop with one attack and Rin nervously trembled as she watched the two grown men strike fists at each other. "Stop!" she declared, running towards them, only for her cheek to be slammed by one of Dell's punches and she flew down to the ground.

Rising to her knees, she could taste the bitterness of her warm blood inside her mouth and she gently placed her hand over the cheek that was aching in pain. With the brawl continuing, she was about to order them to stop again, when the sound of a gunshot froze everyone in thir tracks.

"Dell, leave immediately and if you even consider returning, then I will not hesitate in jamming a bullet deep into your skull," Meiko coldly declared, as she entered the lobby, beautifully dressed in a black kimono that had a scarlet obi tied around her waist but her attractiveness was not what caught everyone's attention. What grabbed everyone's was the silver gun that she carried in her right hand.

"This isn't over, Gakupo," were Dell's final words before he stormed away, noisily slamming the door behind him.

* * *

><p>"Meiko carries that gun around for protection. Our line of work is obviously pretty dangerous which is why Meiko owns that gun in case any of our customers become unmanageable," Miku informed Rin, hours later in their shared room.<p>

"Meiko's never actually fired that gun before, as far as I know, anyway. That's because she is selective with what people we are permitted to engage in business with," revealed Luka.

"I get it," Rin nodded. Gakupo had left shortly after the Dell incident by Meiko's command. She wanted Rin to relax for the rest of the day and move on from the dramatic event. Not that Rin would be able to forget about it, seeing as a huge bruise now covered her once pure cheek but Rin was still thankful for Meiko's rescue and had finally learnt why Miku revered the older woman.

Her luscious lips opened in a wide yawn, Luka groaned, "It's late, I'm tired, so I'm gonna catch some beauty sleep. See you guys, tomorrow." Opening the door, she jumped back in surprise at seeing Meiko's figure standing in front of her.

"Good, you're all here. There's some bad news that I have to inform you all about," stated the brunette.

"Ohh, bad news, I don't like the sound of that," pouted Miku.

"Go ahead and spill whatever you came to tell us," prodded Luka, wanting to finish this so she could hop into the land of dreams.

Taking a deep breath, Meiko told the trio, "They found Dell in an empty alleyway, not to far away from here."

"What do you mean by the found him?" Rin questioned, even though her instincts were already informing her the horrible truth.

"There's no easy way to say this but..." Meiko paused, momentarily, before sadly uttering, "Dell was murdered."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Honestly, when I started this I didn't really think there would be this much Gakupo x Rin moments but it seems they appear more than the Miku x Rin moments. Dell dying doesn't really upset me because I did make him a jerk in this but does anybody have any idea on who killed him? Or maybe I'm just trolling you and his death isn't even important. :P **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When Rin and Miku arrived at Haku's store, the day after Dell's shocking death, they found that it was closed. Even though she wasn't particulary close with the deceased, Rin felt a sense of loss that this person she had grown accustomered to, had left this realm, completely out of the blue. At least with her mother, they knew death was drawing near, allowing her the chance to smile, as the last sparks of life evaporated away from her because she had fuffilled all of her wishes, leaving her with no more regrets.

Dell's end, on the other hand, was cruel and swift. He most likely wasn't able to acheive his goals and he had been so full of rage the last time she had encountered him. She felt that his soul wouldn't be able to properly rest, as his regrets would forever torment him.

He had been a jerk in life, sure, but Rin, after yesterday, couldn't picture him as a bad person. If Dell really were an awful person, then he wouldn't have been friends with Neru. Even Gakupo cared about him, despite the silver head despising his guts.

Rin understood that grief makes people do the wacky, so maybe that's why Dell had such an irritating attitude. His rudeness was his way of mourning for the person he had sworn his heart to. It didn't matter if his important person failed to return the same feelings, he had still loved her. That's what Rin believed, however, she would sadly never know the motivations behind Dell's personality.

Her reason for coming to this store was to offer her condolences to his sister. Even though Haku creeped her out immensly, she was still a human. A human who had permanetly lost something that was surely precious to her. Rin wanted to do her bit to assist, even if her help only brought about a teeny, tiny amount of comfort, it would be enough.

Miku also decided to tag along, even though she had never met Dell before. The teal head had informed Rin that her intention was to be a strong pillar of support and the blonde was glad to have Miku by her side, mainly because having Miku's lively energy will stop everything from becoming uber depressing.

"Hello, is anybody there?" Rin banged her fist against the locked door.

After knocking for a short while and receiving absolutely no response, Miku suggested, "Doesn't seem like anybody's here, so let's return home."

"Let's just try one last time," Rin replied, raising her clenched hand to the door. Before her flesh could strike wood, the door opened and Rin came face to face with an unfamiliar, blonde haired guy.

"We're closed, come again another day," the boy, who looked around Rin's age, told the girls.

"We're not interested in buying any of this weird stuff, we just want to see Haku. She knows who we are because we are regular customers here and this one was aquainted with Dell," Miku pointed at Rin. "So we've come to say our condolences"

Staring at them for a moment, he finally agreed, "Fine, come in," allowing the girls inside. "What are your names?"

"It's proper manners for the gentleman to state his name first," Miku calmly insisted, interupting Rin, just as she was just about to utter her own name.

Scrowling he answered, sarcasm evident in his tone, "Forgive me, my princess for my rudeness. My name is Akita Nero and will you now grace me with the honour of hearing your name?"

"Hatsune Miku," she curtsied and held out the back of her hand, expecting Nero to politely peck it. She pouted when he refused.

"I'm Kagamine Rin," revealed Rin, as she rolled her eyes, in both annoyance and amusement, at Miku's playful teasing. _Huh? Akita...why does that name sound like I've heard it before? Wait, could he be...? _"Are you related to Akita Neru?" she quizzed, once she remembered where she had first heard the name.

"Mm, yeah, Neru was my older sis," he nodded, as he lead the girls deeper into the store, where they ran into a young, green haired maiden, casually relaxing on a stool.

"Nero, who was at th-," she cut of her speech, immediately after taking a glance at the people trailing behind Nero. Her face broke into a grin and she flung herself at Rin, yelling out, "Len!"

Rin wasn't sure what she was more stunned about. The fact that this random stranger now had her arms tightly wrapped around her or that this girl apparently knew her twin. She was so focused on her thoughts that she missed seeing Miku flinch.

Pushing away the girl, who was in the midst of suffocating her, Rin grumbled, "I'm not Len. My name is Rin."

"Huh?" she used her green eyes to examine Rin. "Wow, I'm so sorry, I guess I just saw your head and instantly thought it looked identical to some guy I know. You really do look a lot like him, strange, isn't?"

"Not really. You mentioned Len, right? I have a twin brother who shares that name. Maybe the Len you know is the same one that I know?"

"Wait, you said you were Rin. Does that mean you are _that_ Rin?" her eyes blowing up in size, as she questioned the blonde. Obtaining only a confused expression, the green head explained, "I'm Gumi, Gakupo's little sister. He's told me a lot about some chick called Rin. So, is it you?"

"...Probably."

"How do you know Len?" Miku shoved herself into the conversation, bringing back the earlier topic and Rin was surprised that her usual smile had disappeared.

"Actually, I don't really know him. I just briefly met him at Miki's birthday party. I haven't seen him since then," Gumi answered.

After the words sank inside her, Rin felt relieved and a bit perplexed. Relieved that her sighting of her brother was not a trick of the mind but perplexed because she couldn't think up any reason for him being at that party.

Hearing Nero's voice addressing her, Rin ended her Len musings and focused her ears on Nero's voice, "...follow me, I'll direct you to Haku."

Following after him, Rin heard Miku call out, in her sing-song chirp, "I'm gonna stay here and keep Gumi company."

"Okay," replied Rin, not stopping her steps. Eventually, she and Nero halted at a dark, indigo door.

Nero knocked and yelled out, "Haku, you have a guest."

"Come on in," a voice responded, from the other side of the door and Nero and Rin entered the room.

The room was pretty bare. It's walls were painted with the murky darkness of indigo giving the room a creepy vibe. Haku kneeled in front of low table and asked, "Can I offer you some tea?"

"Sure," Rin accepted, watching as Haku poured three cups of green tea, as the two blondes joined her at the table.

"Have you returned for some more supplies?" Haku asked, Looking at the silver haired woman, Rin was amazed that she seemed to be in the exact same condition that she had been when they had last met.

"No, I came here to tell you that I'm sorry about your loss," she gently murmured, taking a sip of her tea.

"There was no need to. It is what fate had planned for him. I will admit, I do feel some remorse at losing the final remnant of my family but I shall move on from this pain, with the guidance for my foxes. Thank you, for caring, I'm sure Dell would have appreciated it," Haku let out a minuscule smile and Rin was impressed by how strong Haku was. So impressed, that she no longer considered the mysterious woman weird, creepy and intimidating.

* * *

><p>When the two, young women began strolling the path that would eventually lead them back to the brothel, a ball rolled in Miku's path, causing her to stumble but luckily, she managed not to land on her ass.<p>

Picking the ball up, her teal eyes spotted a group of five kids all staring right at her. "I'll be right back, Rin Rin, so you just wait here," she instructed Rin, as she began marching towards the kids, wearing a devilishly, sweet smile on her face.

_She's so immature, _Rin thought. When she had first encountered Miku, that personality had annoyed her but it had always managed to lift up her spirits. Meeting Miku was one of the silver linings to the disgraceful job that she was now able to tolerate.

"I've been looking for you," a threatening, masculine voice came from behind Rin, as someone roughly grabbed a hold of her. Twisting her neck, she saw that the person who had assaulted her was Miku's client, Kiyoteru.

"Let go, you're hurting me," she moaned, her face wincing in pain, at the pressure being applied to her arms.

"You think this hurts? Real pain is having your wife disappear and taking your own fucking daughter with her! The only thing that selfish woman left behind was a tiny, pathetic note saying that she wouldn't be coming back! Now, because of you and that rest of that whorehouse, I've lost my family and I'm going to make you suffer just as much as I am!" Kiyoteru raged, his dark eyes behind his glasses shining murderously, forcing Rin's body to uncontrollably shiver in fear.

Suddenly, a ball smacked Kiyoteru across the face, causing his glasses to crash to the ground, just barely managing not to shatter into a million, mini pieces and his hands reflexively released Rin.

Once free, Rin spotted Miku standing a short distance away, her hands floating in the air, as she happily cheered, "Did you see that Rin Rin? My absolutely perfect bullseye!"

Bending down to retrieve his scratched glasses, Kiyoteru returned them to their rightful position and easily caught a hold of Rin again because the blonde was paralysed, thanks to all these rapidly occuring events, making her bewildered, as her brain's processing pace was unable to match the speed of what was happening around her.

"Kiyoteru, release her," Miku's voice shocked Rin because it was no longer her usual, sweet sounding high-pitched noise. Instead, her tone was hard and deadly and taking a glimpse at Miku's expression made Rin gulp, as there was zero trace of the joyful teen Rin had gotten to know, in these past weeks.

Stepping forward, towards the conflict, Miku resumed barking orders, "Let Rin go! I'm sorry that your wife found out what kind of a worthless piece of trash you are and dumped you but don't take it out on Rin. She had nothing to do with anything. If you want someone to punish, then you can have me."

"Interesting idea," Kiyoteru began pondering the thought in his head, glancing between the two girls. "If you promise that you won't try to escape, then I'll let the little runt go."

"Deal," she nodded, her teal head, without even the slightest hesitation.

Roughly tossing Rin aside, as if she was just a simple doll, Kiyoteru walked right up to Miku, gazed into her eyes filled with bravery and then slapped her cheek, the force making Miku lose her balance and tumble to the ground. Continuing his brutal attack, he began using the power of his feet to kick the lying Miku.

"Miku!" cried Rin, witnessing this terrible scene.

She was intending to interfere and hopefully help her friend when Miku managed to pant out, "Get...out of...h-here...R-Rin."

Rin was going to scream out her refusal to flee, when a familiar purple figure rushed past her.

With his sword drawn, Gakupo calmly commanded, "Kiyoteru, even if it's you, I won't hestitate to feed this blade your blood if you don't stop what you are doing, immediately."

"Tch, fine, you win," Kiyoteru gave Miku one last kick for good measure and began departing the area, without another word.

"Miku!" Rin cried, dashing towards the beat up teen and embracing her in a enormous hug.

"Ow, Rin, that hurts," she complained.

"I'm sorry," Rin apologized, letting go of her friend. "Thanks, Gakupo. Not only did you save me before but you also rescued Miku. There isn't enough words to express how grateful I am, so thanks."

"There's no need to thank me. I was just doing what any decent person would do," the samurai replied.

"No, Rin's right, so...thank you, Gakupo," Miku muttered, softly. Neither Rin nor Gakupo noticed the irritation that lay buried in Miku's grateful words. The irritation that she now owed her life to the person she detested.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well I figured out an ending for this that I think goes well with the song this fic is based on. It will finish around chapter 17, more or less. Anyway, thanks for reading.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Gakupo carrried the wounded Miku all the way back to the brothel. Inside the lobby, they found Luka and Rin explained what had occurred with Kiyoteru. Then, Luka slowly lead Miku to her room to treat Miku's injuries, telling Rin to inform Meiko about what had happened.

Now in Miku and Rin's shared bedroom, the teal haired girl had removed her kimono, to allow Luka to examine the extent of her wounds.

"Why did you help, Rin?" Luka inquired, as she began tending to Miku's damaged body.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that it was wrong for me to help? That I should of just let Rin get beaten up, instead?" retorted Miku, raising her voice.

"No, that's not what I meant. It's fine to sacrifice yourself for others but that isn't like you, Miku," the pink head coolly responded, sticking a bandage over an open wound, that rested on Miku's lower back.

"I help people," insisted Miku.

"Yeah, you do but if assisting someone comes at your expense, then you abandon them. Remember Teto? That cute, red head who used to work here? You witnessed her being troubled by some drunk, street punk and you ignored her. So, considering your previous actions, it is unusual for you to put your neck on the line for Rin," Luka calmly stated.

"...Things change," murmured the teal haired girl, under her breath.

Continuing to grant medical treatment, Luka casually asked, "Do you love Rin?"

"...No," denied Miku, her sweet voice currently in a whisper.

Because she was kneeling behind Miku, Luka couldn't look into her friend's teal eyes or read whatever expression lied on her face but she doubted Miku's answer. She felt she understood Miku better than anybody else in the universe. It wasn't only due to her mentoring the younger girl but because her affection for Miku was incredibly strong.

Luka had long believed that Miku had grown attached to the blonde a while ago. Miku's personalitiy recently had very slightly altered and, while most people wouldn't have noticed, Luka had. She instantly figured out what the cause was because there was only one important change in their lives and that was the arrival of Kagamine Rin.

"So, that would mean you would of had no motive to harm Dell," Luka commented. When news of Dell's fatal wound had reached her ears, she had hated herself for thinking that maybe Miku had committed the sin. Dell had harmed Rin and the thought of her precious Miku seeking revenge had instantly crossed her mind and Luka had one other reason to believe that Miku was Dell's murderer.

"You think I'm a killer?" Miku incredulously yelled, twisting her head to stare into Luka's serious, azure eyes.

"Miku, have you forgotten that you are a killer?"

"...Fine but I...I had absolutely nothing to do with Dell's demise!" she declared and from the intense, sincere gaze she shot Luka with, the pink head trusted Miku's statement.

Changing the direction of the conversation, Luka reminded, "It's your birthday tomorrow. Will you be okay?"

"Huh? Your right, I had comptely forgotten but don't worry, I'll be okay," Miku assured her with her usual, cheerful smile. "Anyway, all these topics are so depressing and I'm bored talking about me. Luka, you must have an interesting little tidbit to share, don't you?"

Nodding her head, her long, pink locks gently swaying from her movement, Luka revealed, "I have something important to tell you. I'm planning on leaving the brothel and starting a new life in some other town and...I want you to join me."

"Wow, I was only intending to hear some juicy gossip but I received something ginormous. Seriously though, what are you going to do about money and I definitely want to come but what about Rin?"

"I've been saving money for a long time now. It should be enough money to support both of us for about a month. I intend to find a job obviously, so that I don't fall into financial ruin. I don't partciulary care what kind of job I find, so long as it is an ordinary, run of the mill occupation. I want to leave behind this caged lifestyle and become a free bird who is gifted with the ability to spread it's wings. My dream is to live an ordinary life," Luka spoke, a blissful smile appearing on her beautiful facial features, as she gushed about the dream she wished for.

"I haven't asked Rin nor am I going to. She isn't like us, who have nobody to call family. Rin loves her family and she wouldn't ever wish to permenently leave them. At least, while she's here, she's still somewhat connected to them and there is a high chance they could be reunited but if she comes with us, to some strange town, she will most likely never get the opporunity to encounter them again," explained Luka, her tone returning to it's normal pitch. "I've finished treating your wounds, so I'll let you rest. I don't plan on leaving immediately, so that gives you some time to decide on your choice," Luka remarked, rising to her feet, closing the door behind her once she had departed from the room.

Heading back to her own quarters, Luka passed by Rin in the hallway. Without missing a step, Luka cryptically informed the blonde, "Miku might not be feeling well tomorrow because it's her birthday."

Rin turned to watch her walk away, a confused expression written on her face, as she wondered what Luka meant. Sighing, she entered her room, finding Miku, who had just finished getting back into her kimono.

"Are you feeling better?" Rin asked, her voice contaminated with concern.

"Mm, yeah, I'm fine," smiled Miku and Rin noticed that she seemed distracted by something. "Ah, Meiko, are you coming to check up on me, too?" Miku, suddenly, exclaimed.

Rin glanced behind her and saw her gorgeous boss standing behind her. "Yes I did want to check on you but I'm afraid there has been another incident," Meiko muttered, the dark, depths of her eyes clouded by sorrow.

"Another incident?" Miku and Rin simultaneoiusly chimed, while the teal head also tilted her head to the side.

"They found a fresh body in the area. This time it was your client...Hiyama Kyoteru."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What did Luka mean by saying Miku is a killer? Well, it will be explained in the next chapter. Unfortunately, if you are dying to find out who killed Dell and Kiyoteru, you will have to patiently wait a little longer and if you have been waiting for some Miku x Rin goodness, then the next chapter should be able to satisify you a bit. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

When Rin awoke in the middle of the night, she felt a cool breeze chill her petite body. Sitting up, she spotted Miku silently gazing out of the open window and Rin was surprised to realize that there was a faint light, shining in the otherwise shadowy world.

Rising from her futon, Rin made her way over to the window and sat down beside Miku, their shoulders touching. Using her eyes to search for the source of the glow, she murmured in admiration, "Wow, a firefly! I've never seen one before."

"This is my first time seeing one as well," revealed Miku, her eyes glued to the fluttering, little, creature.

"It's pretty," gushed Rin, smiling as she engraved the image of a firefly flickering like a flame onto her mind. After all of the drama and death that had occurred over the last few days, Rin was elated that something bright had appeared during these dark times. She wished that this peaceful moment, free of any stress or sorrow, would last forever but she knew that it would eventually fade out, just like mist.

Remembering what Luka had briefly mentioned to her and thinking that maybe it's already morning, Rin greeted Miku, "Happy Birthday, Miku!"

With the irises of her teal eyes remained fixated on the radiant bug, Miku quietly muttered, "My birthday is hardly happy."

"...Do you hate your birthday? I bet the reason is just because you hate the fact that you are slowly turning into an old woman," Rin joked, playfully patting Miku on the back.

"I hate my birthday because it always brings out my worst memories. The memories of that day torment me because no matter how hard I try to erase them, they refuse to abandon me," Miku answered, her voice lacking any emotion and causing the smile to vanish from Rin's face.

"Miku...what are you talking about?" the blonde asked, feeling a mixture of curiosity, concern and trepidation.

Finally removing her gaze away from the sparkling firefly, Miku turned to stare at Rin. Miku's expression chilled the blonde, due to the lack of warmth, and then Miku smiled a cold smile and uttered, "I'm talking about the day that I killed someone."

* * *

><p>Miku spent her childhood being brought up by a drug addicted mother, who had gotten herself pregnant when she had been fifteen years old and her family had disowned her, disgusted by the fact that their child had placed shame on the family.<p>

Miku had never met her father. She had questioned her mother about him multiple times but that would just result in the innocent child being ignored or landing a slap on the cheek.

Not that Miku was ever lacking in the male role model department, due to her mother constantly bringing strange, intimidating men back to their place of residence. Like her mother, these men were all troubled by their substance addictions and wouldn't hesitate in beating Miku up a bit.

The youngster never felt any love from the person who had given birth to her. Instead, Miku was forced to act as a slave to her mother and her perpetual changing boyfriends.

Back then, Miku's heart was extremely pure and her mind positively optimistic about the future, despite the harshness of her life. Miku used to pray and wish for her father to suddenly appear again and whisk her away from this hell hole. Occasionally, dark ideas would enter her small head, such as, maybe her father had chosen to abandon her or that he no longer existed on this Earth but she would instantly erase those thoughts and resume her naive dreams.

It was Miku's twelfth birthday, when her pure heart shattered, the remaining pieces being tightly bound up by the chained cage, that her current self had created to protect from any future heartache.

On that night, it had been raining heavily, as if to warn the young Miku about the terror that would befall her.

* * *

><p>Miku was alone at home, her mother who knows where. As usual, the kid received no presents, no cake and not even a simple greeting of, "Happy birthday."<p>

She was used to this treatment and so she always made preparations to celebrate by herself. Standing at the kitchen benchtop, Miku stuck one, tiny green candle into a chocolate cupcake. Using a match, she lit the candle, smiling at its warm glow.

"Happy birthday, Miku," she cheered, blowing out the candle, while making the same wish she made every year. The wish for her father to come and save her.

Miku then proceeded to remove the smoking candle from the baked good. The candle was like a dear friend to her because she had been using it to light her birthday cupcakes for the last six years and so she delicately cleansed it clean, of the chocolate crumbs.

Satisfied with the candle, she took a bite out of her cupcake, the tasty flavour arousing her mouth. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the front door bang open and heavy footsteps making their way over to the kitchen. Upon arrival, Miku recognized the man who entered the room as her mother's current boyfriend, Al.

"Wes sur mober," the man slurred, revealing to Miku that he was drunk.

"She's not here," Miku informed, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice. Taking her cupcake, she began walking past the drunkard, as she headed for the safe quarters of her room, where she intended to finish her birthday treat.

Well, that was the plan anyway. Instead, Al roughly latched onto her arm, her cupcake crashing down on the tiled floor.

"Yur preashy," he gurgled. Miku tried to pull away from him buut even in his drunken state, the big man had more strength than the little girl.

Lifting her up, he forced her to lay on the table in the room, slyly grinning, "Lesh hab fun."

Miku's already frightened eyes opened wide, once her vision changed to the sight of Al removing his pants. Her panicked heart pounded away, after seeing for the first time the long organ belonging only to males.

She closed her eyes, so that she would cease having to witness that disgusting appendage. She felt his rough hands start to lift the hem of her skirt up and she knew what foul act he intended to perform on her.

The young Miku didn't really understand this action. All she knew about it was from the one horrifiying moment when she had waltzed in on her mother performing this activity, a few years ago.

Despite her lack of knowledge, Miku knew one thing for certain and that was that she definitely did not desire this man to insert himself inside of her adolescent body but there was absolutely nothing she could do except mentally pray for an angel to be her saviour.

While her body was heavily trembling, her lower body shivered at the cold air brushing against her uncovered flesh and her right arm unconciously flailed around, search for something to end this predicament.

Feeling something brush against her fingertips, she pushed her hand to grab onto the object. Gripping the item by the handle, her eyelids shot open upon realizing what exactly she was desperately holding onto.

She failed to completely determine what the object she found was though, as she noticed that Al's appendage was only a few centimetres away from penetrating her virgin petals. Tears dripped down her face, as she prepared herself for the impact, her grip tightening on the handle she held onto.

"Arghhhhhh!" an extremely, anguished scream penetrated the room and then Al toppled over backwards.

The only sound's Miku could hear was her heavy breathing and the loud beating of her heart. Sitting up, she looked at the floor below her and noticed the pool of scarlet liquid, slowly forming around Al's frozen body. The sight of a dirty knife, held tightly in Miku's palm confirmed what had occurred.

The object she had discovered was an ordinary, kitchen knife and just before the moment that Al would have inserted his weapon inside Miku, she had reflexively inserted her weapon into his chest.

The first emotion that ran through her body was happiness. Joy that she wouldn't have had to suffer through whatever pain Al had intended to torment her with.

The second emotion was petrified shock. Miku's body was paralysed and she continued watching Al as the last drops of life evaporated away from his stiff body.

Dropping the knife, she shakily raised her palms before her eyes and immediately grew nauseous at the sight of the fresh, warm blood, splashed all over her once pure hands.

Jumping off the table and unable to withstand the sickening feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, she vomited out the contents of her body. The brown-ish liquid mixed with the dark, red blood, making Miku feel even more sick.

It wasn't the gruesome corpse that caused her ill feeling but the fact that she was the one responsible for this crime. She had killed a man!

Miku was so fixated on these terrible events that had befallen her, that she had failed to notice the banging of the door, as someone entered the premises.

"What's going on?" Miku removed her gaze from the corpse and through her blurred visison, she saw her mother, wearing a confused look on her face.

"I-I-It was...s-self...d-d-defence..." wept Miku, finally breaking her silence.

The elder woman stepped towards her daughter, careful not to disturb the deceased but instead of wrapping her baby up in a comforting hug, she gave Miku a painful slap across the cheek.

"You're my child, so I won't inform the authorities about the crime you have just committed but I want you gone! Leave now! I never want to even glimpse at your pitiful face! The only thing your birth has given me is hell! I hate you! Get the hell out of my place and never, ever return!" the woman ordered, to her own flesh and blood.

With her mother's cruel words ringing in her small ears, Miku dashed out of the house. She sprinted down the dark, raining streets until her stamina depleted itself.

She then bent down on the wet cobblestone and hugged her knees. The area she was in was unfamilair and strange but that didn't bother her. Images of everything that had occurred in the last few hours crept into her mind and she released her tears.

Tears for killing someone, tears for almost being raped, tears for having no clue to her father's whereabouts, tears for never being loved by her mother and what made her heart ache the most, was the fact that she had always been and always will be alone.

Her tears mixed with the rain and her throat stung but eventually, every last drop of her painful, sorrowful tears had been spilled. Looking up at the sky, feeling water pour on her face, she swore to herself that because she was alone in the world, she would protect herself. She made an oath that she would never let herself cry again, for as long as she resumed living her worthless life.

* * *

><p>As Miku recalled her terrible past, all Rin could do was silently listen, her eyes wide open in dejected shock. Her reaction wasn't just because of that tragic tale but also because a strange sight was happening before her eyes. The sight of tears flowing and staining Miku's pretty face.<p>

The entire time Rin had lived inside the brothel's walls, she had never even had a glimpse of Miku spilling tears. There was almost always a perfect, joyful smile. That smile had the ability to calm the blonde but at the same time, a pang of sadness would always manage to etch itself onto her heart.

Miku's usual grin was too perfect, too fake. That smile would occasionally give Rin the impression that her senior was an empty doll. Those barriers Miku enclosed herself into, forced Rin to keep a distance but now, seeing Miku's shield vanish in an instant and finally show her real, vulnerable self, made Rin sort of happy.

A strong breeze blew into the room from the open window, tossing Miku's teal twin-tails around. The pink and black ribbon that was tied up on the left side of her head, came undone and her long hair tumbled down her shoulder.

Feeling the wind lick her body, Rin regained her senses. Staring deep into Miku's moist, teal eyes, she gently told her, "Thanks for telling me, Miku. I really appreciate that you trusted me enough to share and I want you to know that you are not alone. I will be with you, so you don't need to bury the burden all by yourself anymore. It's okay to let yourself cry and I promise that I will be there for you, no matter what."

The next thing Rin knew was the softness of Miku's lips, as the older girl suddenly kissed the blonde. Rin's body was frozen in surprise. Rin had kissed many people in her line of work but this kiss was different. For some unfathomable reason, Rin liked it and allowed herself to get swept up in Miku's passionate touch.

The taste of Miku's hot breath, the fragrance of her body and the feel of Miku's luscious locks around her palms, enticed Rin. This was easily her best kiss ever but eventually, her rationality came back.

Pushing Miku away, Rin blurted out, "I'm sleepy. Night, night," and then the blonde jumped back into her warm futon, her back turned from where Miku's futon lay next to her.

A few minutes later, Rin heard the rustling of Miku getting into her own futon. Rin wasn't sure if the teal head had driftted off to sleep but Rin herself couldn't sleep and she spent the rest of the early morning awake, with her face burning brightly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've been wanting to write this firefly scene ever since I decided to write a fic based on Dreaming Little Bird, even though what I've written is not exactly how I thought it would be. Then again, the entire fic has morphed into something quite different from my original intentions. Anyway, thanks for reading. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Bye, Rin Rin, I'll see you later," Miku waved goodbye, before proceeding to exit out of their bedroom's door.

"...Yeah," nodded Rin, observing the teal twin-tails fly out of the room.

Unconciously widening her mouth in a yawn, the blonde shifted her gaze back to the glass mirror she sat before and frowned at the heavy, dark circles that had formed under her eyes.

Miku hadn't suffered the same disfigurement that had afflicited Rin. Actually, it seemed that nothing odd had occurred between the two roommates, the night before, due to Miku only exhibiting her typical behaviour. Neither one of them mentioned the incident, so Rin considered the possibility of it just being some elaborate dream.

The sleep deprived eyes proved otherwise and she ruled out hallucinations because the warmth from Miku's soft lips remained embedded on her own lips.

Lightly placing the tips of her fingers on her lips, her cheeks turned rosy as she vividly recalled the tender kiss she had shared with Miku. Rin didn't understand why her body failed to grow nauseus from their taboo activity. It was wrong to have these emotions for someone of the same sex but even so, her lips sought more of the forbidden fruit that she had immensly enjoyed the taste of.

"Has Miku already left?" Rin jolted up in her seat at the sudden noise, painfully banging her knees against the desk. Twisting her neck, she noticed that Luka had barged into the room.

"Are you feeling okay?" Luka inquired, observing Rin's flushed face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just fine," Rin feebly assured Luka.

Arching her perfectly shaped brow upwards, Luka remarked, "Then, I'll be going."

"Wait," the blonde called out before Luka could take a step out of the room. "Do you know about Miku's past?"

"Yeah, I know. What did you have to do to drag the truth out of her?" the pink head questioned, locking her serious, azure eyes on Rin.

"I didn't do anything, really. Miku just suddenly started spilling everything to me. I swear, I didn't do anything to provoke her other than wish her a happy birthday."

While answering the older woman, Rin was perplexed by the swiftly changing expressions of Luka's visage. For some unknown reason, Luka had, for a split second, shown vulnerability. It shocked Rin because now that she thought about it, she had never once witnessed her senior showing any signs of sadness.

"So how did you react to her story?" Luka continued her questioning, making Rin feel like she was being interrogated.

"Well it's kind of embarrassing but...I told her that I would always be there for her."

"...I see," Luka quietly muttered. Making a smile that seemed forced in Rin's opinion, Luka uttered a few final words before disappearing from sight, "Rin, please take care of Miku for me."

Left alone, Rin felt that there was a deeper meaning that she couldn't grasp buried under Luka's parting words. Her instincts believed that it sounded like Luka was planning on going somewhere far, far away but that couldn't be it, could it?

* * *

><p>Rin wasn't at all surprised to find Gakupo waiting for her in the lobby. She figured he would appear because of Kiyoteru. What did startle her was the blame he was placing on himself.<p>

"It's all my fault. I should have been a better friend. I shouldn't have left Kiyoteru all alone," he dejectedly groused.

"Gakupo, stop it! You're not to blame for his death," Rin attempted to shake Gakupo out of inflicting even more scars on his heart.

"No, it is my fault! It's my fault Kiyoteru died. I should have been by his side while he dealt with losing Lily. When he hurt you and Miku, I should have followed after him and helped him return to the usual Kiyoteru. Dell was exactly the same. When he had stormed out of here, I should have done something. I could have saved them but I failed as a friend to both of them. I failed Neru as well. If I hadn't begged her to run my errand that day, she definitely would still remain in this world today," Gakupo trembled, while he held his head in his hands and watched his teardrops sink into the fabric of his clothes.

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda, it doesn't matter now. There's nothing you can do to fix the past, so there's no reason or benefit to remain thinking like this," Rin gently tried to calm him down.

Raising his tear streaked face to stare at Rin, Gakupo shouted at her, "I know that!...Sorry, I didn't mean to growl at you but you are right. I can't alter my mistakes but I can prevent myself from repeating them. Rin, the reason I came here is because I have a proposition for you."

"Proposition?"

Wiping away his tears, Gakupo resumed informing Rin about his request, "I want you to come and live with me."

"W-why?" Rin exclaimed, blinking her sapphire eyes in amazement.

"Because I failed to assist the people whom I had refered to as friends and you know where they ended up. I can't keep ignoring the fact that you aren't entirely happy with this lifestyle. You're in pain and I don't wish to see you become like Dell and Kiyoteru. If money is the issue, well, I have plenty to spare. Rin, you are very important to me, I want to be able to finally rescue one of my precious comrades before I permanently lose one of them again," as the samurai finished saying his sincere speech, he closed the distance between him and the blonde and tenderly kissed her.

After briefly being devoured by Gakupo's lips, Rin forcibly pushed him away and sprinted out of the building, becoming another nameless figure out on the crowded streets. Her legs raced away until she could no longer breathe. Standing in the middle of some random shopping district, Rin's heart rapidly pounded and she was unsure if it was due to the extreme burst of exercise she had just performed or because of Gakupo's loving touch.

Rin's heart now screamed out in agony. Guilt clouded her chest and her conflicting emotions all melted together. Miku and Gakupo were both important to her and she now understood that both of them carried much stronger feelings for her than just friendship.

Miku and Gakupo both lit a unique flame in her heart but Rin was unable to decide which flame carried more heat. She promised that she would always be there for Miku but at the same time she didn't desire to abandon the anguished Gakupo. The only thing she knew for certain was that she didn't seek to hurt either of them but she now understood that wish was now just a naive dream.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy December everybody. December is kind of my favourite month of the year because of the obvious stuff like a taking a break from school and Christmas but also because my birthday is in December. But my month started off pretty depressing because my aunt kind of received some bad news about the breast cancer she's spent the last couple of years fighting against. Anyway, thanks for reading and sorry about the chapter being kind of short.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It started out like any ordinary day but when Gakupo failed to make a single appearance by the time Gumi had finished preparing their breakfast, she grew uneasy.

Deciding to check up on her big brother, Gumi abandoned the completed omelettes and headed towards Gakupo's room.

She had only lived in this house for less than a year. When Neru had passed away, Gakupo had suffered a mental breakdown. She had chosen to move out of their parent's home and started living in the house he had shared with Neru. Gumi wanted to do whatever was possible to ease her brother's pain and now, with the murders of Dell and Kiyoteru, she felt like all of her effort had been for nought because Gakupo had returned to his former, pathetic, grieving self.

Arriving at the door to Gakupo's bedroom, Gumi gently tapped the hard surface and called out his name. After wasting around ten minutes knockig her fist against the door, she yelled out to the other side, "Gakupo, I'm coming in."

Stepping inside Gakupo's private quarters, Gumi didn't intially realize something was seriously wrong until her bare foot made contact with something sticky that stuck to the floor. Examining what she had trampled on, her complexion immediately grew pale, seeing a pool of blood that stained the ground.

Then, she noticed Gakupo's trusty katana, carelessly lying on the floor, it's usual silver spark, contaminated by crimson markings. She shuffled her eyes around until she spotted the vison she had most dredded.

Gakupo looked just like a broken doll that had been tossed aside. His body was stiff and the center of his neck was now covered in a dark, tainted wound but what really made Gumi's blood freeze was the final expression her brother would ever make. The way his facial structure was perpetually glued in a perplexed manner. The way his violet eyes blanky gazed up at her, would haunt Gumi forever.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhh! Arghhhhhhhhhhh! Arghhhhhhhhhh!," Gumi relentlessly spilled her raw emotions, not caring that her horrified screams were tearing at her throat.

* * *

><p>When Meiko entered the dining room, followed by Haku, the chatter between the green, yellow and pink heads came to an abrupt halt.<p>

"What brings you here?" Luka was the first to speak up.

Revealing a grim grin, Haku answered, "It's exactly as you all fear. There was another murder. Gumi discovered him, in his room, this morn-."

"No! No, way, that can't be possible," Rin loudly, interrupted before fearfully shaking her short locks around, water starting to drip out from the corners of her eyes.

"I'm afraid it's reality. This morning, Gumi intruded into Gakupo's room and there she found his corpse," stated Haku.

Slapping her palms against the wooden table, Rin hoisted herself up from her seat and dejectedly whispered, "Excuse me but I just need some time to myself," before fleeing the room that had grown clouded with a gloomy atmosphere.

Miku was tempted to chase after Rin but Luka tapped her on the shoulder and, with a silent shake of her head, advised Miku to play along with Rin's wishes.

Nosily, clearing her throat, Meiko turned to the silver head and inquired, "Would you like me to bring you a cup of tea?"

"No, I never planned for this visit to be a long one. I have to help Nero care for Gumi. She's understandably a mess right now."

The brunette nodded her beautiful head in understandment, "Then allow me to escort you to the exit," and after offering words of goodbye, Meiko and Haku left the two younger girls to remain behind.

"Miku, I have an idea," Luka's cut into the silence that had momentarily tainted the air.

"...Idea?" Miku half-heartedly wondered.

She was never fond of Gakupo. Admitedly, he had been her saviour and she was immensly grateful for that simple, little detail but her envious feelings had always prevented her from ever truly learning more about the samurai.

Sure, she had on numerous occasions dreamt for Gakupo to disappear from their lives but now that her selfish desire had been brought to life, she felt a void in her soul. She never sought his death and Miku was pained at the thought of how greatly his passing will negatively affect Rin.

"Yeah, remember there's a public fireworks show being organized for tonight. You should take Rin there, to help lift up her spirits," suggested Luka.

"You're a genius Luka, seriously. You always come up with the best ideas," praised Miku, in genuine awe. "Wait, why are you saying, 'you'? Aren't you tagging along?"

While apologetically smiling, Luka replied, "I have some important business that I have to attend to." Rising to her feet, Luka began taking long strides to the door. Placing a delicate hand on the door frame, she twisted her slim neck and used her serious azure eyes, now strangely tinted with a faint trace of sorrow, to gaze into the depths of Miku's teal pearls.

"It's probably a good thing that I have other plans because I most likely would fail at cheering Rin up. Miku, you're strong enough to heal Rin's heart by yourself and I hope the two of you will be happy...Goodbye, Miku."

* * *

><p>It was already late afternoon and the sky was already burnt a radiant orange, as the sun descended from the sky. Miku and Rin had already departed for the fireworks event around fifteen minutes ago.<p>

Luka tightly closed up the zip of her bag and then used the sleeve of her pink kimono to wipe away the liquid that dripped out of her eyes. Tenderly setting down a plain white envelope addressed to Miku on her bedroom's desk, she lifted her two bags and mentally farewelled the chamber, that she had spent the last couple of years residing in.

Stepping into the lobby, she encountered Meiko. The brunette took one glance at the contents of Luka's hands and commented, "Were you intending on leaving without even bothering to say goodbye?"

"Sorry," Luka sheepishly apologized. "I just thought you would attempt to stop me, that's my reason for secrecy."

"Idiot," insulted Meiko, before rushing to embrace the pink haired girl. "I want my ladies to be happy and if that means spreading your wings and flying away from this place, then there is no way in hell I would ever try to crush that dream."

"Thanks, Meiko," Luka smiled, forcing herself not to shed any more tears. She didn't want to cry. This moment was meant to be a joyful occasion and so, Luka desperately tried to hold herself together.

Ending their hug, Meiko mused, "Seeing as how you didn't care to inform me about your departure, I bet that means Miku doesn't know? Are you positive about leaving her behind?"

"Yeah, Miku will be fine, she has Rin by her side, after all. She no longer needs me. I no longer have any obstacles holding me back from acheiving my dream. Meiko, thank you for everything and I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Take care, Luka and I hope that you can finally live the free life that you desire."

Taking one final look around the brothel she considered her home, embedding the image of her surroundings in her heart, Luka permanently exited the building, taking her first steps as a free, little bird.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And there is yet another victim...and Luka left as well. I adore Miku x Luka but this is a Miku x Rin fic, so yeah, Luka doesn't get her perfect ending. There's only two chapters left and the next one will have 'fireworks'. Thanks again for reading. ^-^**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The stone paved lane was lit with lights. Climbing up the sloped road, anyone could recognize the excited atmosphere buzzing around the town. Everywhere except in the space that surrounded Miku and Rin, which was tainted with a stifling numbness.

When Miku had asked Rin to join her to view the fireworks, there had been absolutely no objections from the blonde but she was clearly not enthusiastic about the event. Their journey had been travelled in utter silence, with Rin choosing to let her blue eyes stare down at the ground they trodded upon.

_Gakupo really was important to you, wasn't he? _Miku mutely asked her companion. _You probably chrished him more than you will ever treasure me. _

Lightly shaking her head, her twin-tails fluttering in the air, Miku purged the envious thoughts out of her mind. It was selfish of her to remain jealous, especially now that her rival had exited this plane of existence.

Miiku was positively sure that all these mysterious new feelings that beated in her heart was because she was in love with Rin. The sugary kiss they had shared was the sweetest treat to pass through Miku's lips. It was the first kiss that failed to leave behind any thoughts of disgust.

Yet Miku was unsure about how Rin had experienced their passionate touch. Did it fill her stomach with the same blissful juiciness that Miku felt or with vile nausea?

It didn't matter either way Miku mused, as she reached a sudden realization. Regardless if Rin's heart was soaked with love for Gakupo or Miku or whoever, Miku came to the conclusion that it wasn't that important.

Sure, Miku wished for Rin to devote her body and soul to her and her alone but the teal head understood that dream was selfish. She loved Rin and she now realized that what she truly desired was for Rin to express an eternal smile. As long as Rin lived in happiness, then Miku herself could bask in that glow. Even if Rin's happiness was derived from someone other than Miku.

That's why Miku had to use what little power at her disposal to cheer her beloved up, and so she gently grabbed a hold of the blonde's frigid hand. The only reaction the younger girl made was a slight flickering of her eyelids. Unable to withstand the heavy silence any longer, Miku opened her mouth.

_"La lala la la la laaa," _her high-pitched voice began weaving a simple melody. _"La lala la la la laaa. La lala la la la la, lala laaaaa ah!"_

Feeling confident that even a moping Rin wouldn't allow her to stumble into any obstacles, Miku's eyelids drifted shut as lyrical words escaped from her lips.

_"When I woke up this morning, my first thought was about you. I gave into having my bangs cut so that you would notice and ask, 'Why the new style?' Pink skirt and a flower barrette. I'll stick it in my hair and go out and today, I'll show you how cute I can really be."_

The song was your typical, fluffy love song and Miku had no idea why something so vapid would be memorised by her brain cells. Obsessing about becoming cuter was such a vain issue that could barely match anything Miku had ever had to deal with. Yet, Miku recalled images of her pure, angelic child form excitedly dancing along to the upbeat rhythm and besides, Miku had to admit that the tune was extremely catchy.

_"Melt! I might melt. Saying, 'I love you,' is impossible for me. However, melt! I can't even look you in the eye. How will I get my love across to you? Because you are still holding my heart ...after all."_

Chanting out the chorus, Miku was stunned to discover that maybe she could actually relate to this ordinary pop hit. Not missing a beat, a joyful grin painted itself across Miku's pretty face but what made this smile unique from all of her usual ones, was the fact that it was genuine. For the first time in aeons, Miku felt alive and she knew it was all thanks to a little, blonde bird who had magically melted away all the ice from her formally caged heart.

Plus, just like the herorine from the song's tale, it was impossible for Miku to take the risky leap of confessing her love.

_"La lala la la...?"_

_"...la laaa. La lala la la la laaa. La lala la la la, lala laaaaa ah! _Huh, why'd you stop singing?"

"Uh, duh, because you surprised me, Rin Rin," Miku casually remarked, after getting over her initial amazement that her mournful comrade had pitched in with the song.

"I didn't know you could sing," commented Rin. Her actions and tone of voice were still dejected but Miku's glow shined more strongly after seeing Rin take her first small step towards moving away from the depths of despair.

"Anybody can sing," declared Miku, proudly.

"Not well, they can," came Rin's snarky retort. Well, it would of sounded snarky if Rin wasn't currently upset.

"Are you saying I'm a terrible singer?"

"No, I'm reluctantly admitting that you actually have some real talent."

"What's that supposed to mean? I, the glorious Miku, am a star who blinds people with my power to shine at absoluetly anything! So obviously, something as painfully easy as singing would be effortlessly beautiful."

"Riiiiight. Please forgive me, oh glorious star, for doubting your briliance," Miku glared at the evident sarcasm Rin responded with. Her narrowed eyes didn't remain long though because she soon burst out into fits of laughter. She had missed these playful banters they used to regulary exchange.

After the tealnette's giggles fell into the void, Rin inquired, "What was that song, anyway?"

"Melt," immediately answered Miku. "You haven't heard it before? Then how come you were able to sing along?"

"Anybody can quickly learn the tune to a basic 'la lala la la la laaa'."

"Eh he ha, I totally knew that. I was just testing out your intelligence, Rin Rin," Miku awkwardly scratched the side of her face in embarrassment.

"Sure you did."

Annoyed with the current topic of discussion, Miku decided to shift the focus over to Rin. "You have some excellent singing skills as well. Not as good as me but you passed the entrance exam to become my back-up star. So, what do you say, want to join me in my performance?"

Rolling her blue eyes, Rin's reply was, "I'm confident in stating that anybody without hearing impairments will agree that I am the better singer but seeing as I'm clueless on the lyrics, I will become your back-up star."

As the pair proceeded closer to their destination, their unique pitches blended together as they crooned out 'Melt'. The boisterous clamour created by the townsfolk drowned out their synchronized melody, leaving their beautiful voices to only sway amongst the two, as a special concert that only their ears could hear.

* * *

><p>"The fireworks are beautiful," Rin dreamily gushed.<p>

"Yeah, just like flowers blooming in the sky," Miku nodded her head in agreement. The pair were lounging on a deserted hill, gazing up at the exploding night sky. Luka had informed Miku about this wonderfully private viewing spot during the previous year's fireworks show and just as expected, Luka was perfectly right because the scene before their eyes was astounding.

"But no matter how hard you pray, everything withers and fades into dust," the blonde muttered, so quietly that Miku almost missed those angst filled words.

She directed her teal eyes to stare at her companion's face, which was being illuminated by the gorgeous sky fire. Rin's mood had been blissful only a brief moment ago, so it sadened the older girl that the blonde had taken a step back into dark waters.

"Gakupo...It's ironic but I'm doing exactly what I told him not to," Miku trembled as she heard the self-derision leaking out of Rin's words.

"Rin...I don't understand what you're saying."

Keeping her eyes locked on the sparkling sky, Rin responded, "The last time I saw Gakupo, he was blaming himself for Dell and Kiyoteru's deaths. It's probably accurate to say that I'm now blaming myself for Gakupo's death."

"Rin, you're not responsible."

"I get that, I really do but it doesn't change how i feel. He was in pain and I just selfishly fled. I was too self absorbed in my own conflicts that I just abandoned him and now I'll never get to give him my answer. The emotion that is suffocating me, right now, is regret. I wish that my last memory of him was as peaceful as our first meeting but now I will be permanently haunted by the anguished expression that I had ran away from," teardrops started rolling down Rin's milky skin.

"...Did you...love him?" Miku hesitantly asked the question that she was terrified of knowing the answer to.

A bitter smirk appeared on Rin's face. "That's what I spent yesterday trying to figure out and I've reached my conclusion. I loved Gakupo but only as an irreplaceable friend. My love for him was stronger than my feelings for somebody like Luka but weaker for someone as precious to me as Len...or you."

Miku blinked as Rin's words fall into her ears. As Rin continued speaking, Miku decided she had just misheard the part about Rin loving Miku more than Gakupo.

"Miku, I'm really glad that you still remain by my side. I have no clue what I would do if your corpse was to appear before me, so I'm just happy you're alive and if one of us were to die tomorrow then there's something that I must reveal to you, so that my soul won't be stained with more regrets."

Rin turned her gaze towards Miku and the tealnette noticed the conviction buried behind Rin's irises.

"I'm in love with you, Miku. I don't care if you think it's gross or anything but I just wanted you to know the truth."

"Stupid, Rin Rin. There's no way that I think that's gross because I love you too!" yelled Miku, before smacking her lips against Rin's.

"You actually love me? This isn't some sick and twisted joke, right?" questioned Rin, after they tore themselves apart, completely bewildered by Miku's announcement.

"Nope, I'm seriously for real. I love, love, love you, Rin Rin and I swear to stand by your side and protect you from anything, including the yucky serial killer, forever!" vowed Miku, pumping her fist in the air in determination.

"And I promise that I will never, ever abandon you. You no longer need to hide behind a masked barrier. I will accept you no matter what, so promise me that you won't turn into a doll again," Rin held her pinky finger out.

Wrapping her own pinky finger around Rin's, Miku grinned, "I promise."

Temporarily forgetting about all the recent hardships, the two lovebirds fervourly kissed under the colourful sky. Savouring every scrumptiously, delightful flavour that spread between their entwined lips, the two little birds dreamed that this perfect moment of love could last until the end of time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for taking a while to update. The adaptor for my laptop broke, so I was computerless for a week and it took some time to get a new one. I bring good news, I think, because this fic won't be 17 chapters long. The main reason being is that the rest of the stuff I was going to put in this chapter, I'm just going to put in the next chapter.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The first thing they saw when they returned home, was the multiple sake bottles that littered the brothel's normally, pristine floor. Miku and Rin had thought they would just head straight to their room for a good night's sleep.T hat's why they were both utterly blindsided by the chaotic appearance of the usually, glamorously, composed Meiko.

"D-did something happen, Meiko?" quizzed Rin, once her blank mind had recovered from its intial shock.

"Nah, it's nothing," Miku answered, swatting her hand in the air at an invisible fly. "Meiko gets totally wasted like this at least once a month. You just don't notice it because she prefers to drink alone in her room in, like, the dead of the night. C'mon, let's leave her to relax with her liquor," Miku started pulling Rin in the direction of their room.

"Actually, something did occur whilst you were gone," Meiko remarked, her cheeks flushed, as she drunkedly stared right though Miku.

"Another murder?" gulped Rin.

"No, no, nothing as terrible as that," assured the brunette, rising up from the floor that she had been relaxing on. "Luka just decided to end her tenure here, is all."

A dazed expression clouded Miku's face as she whispered, "Luka left?"

"Losing Luka is gonna be bad for business. Urgh, I hate having to recruit replacements," Meiko moaned, while holding a palm to her forehead, hoping to ease the pounding of her headache.

Rin felt her hand being released and observed as the twin-tails dashed up the stairs. The blonde was about to chase after when something latched onto her shoulder.

"Rin, can I have a word with you?" Meiko requested. Her pitch and movements seemed slightly more reformed than they had been a few seconds earlier.

"...Sure," accepted Rin, wondering what Meiko wanted to discuss.

The mature beauty removed her hand from Rin's small shoulder and dipped it into the depths of her crimson kimono. When the hand reappeared, it carried with it a dangerously, familiar, silver object.

"Here, a present from me," the brunette placed the gun into Rin's hands. Grasping onto the weapon, the younger girl was astonished how it's small size betrayed it's heaviness.

"M-Meiko...t-this...the alcohol must be possessing you or something 'cause you're clearly not thinking straight if you're giving me something like this," exclaimed Rin.

"My brain is fine. I'm giving this gun to you for your own protection." Spotting Rin's clueless face, Meiko clarified. "Haku and I have come to the conclusion that you are the common factor behind all these recent killings."

"I don't get it. Kiyoteru wasn't even one of my client's, he was Miku's."

"True but you were involved in that scruffle with him, then we winded up dead. Same thing happened with Dell, correct? I don't recall you having any disagreements with the samurai but the two of you had gotten a little, unaturally close. My assumption is that someone is receiving a thrill out of tormentting you or they have a twisted sense of justice. My worries could all be for naught though, because the victims did run in the same circles but just accept this gift to help ease my stressful workload," Meiko insisted, before making her way towards her private quarters.

"But what happens if you need to use this gun?" Rin called out after the departing woman.

"That's what a spare is for, honey," Meiko glanced back over her shoulder and flashed Rin with a bright grin.

Meanwhile, Miku had hurriedly crashed into Luka's room. Examining her surroundings, she saw that all the possessions of her mentor had vanished. Only a simple envelope was left behind.

Delicately tracing her index finger over the inked letters that spelled out 'Miku', the tealnette pulled out a slip of paper and slowly read over its contents.

_"Sorry, Miku. You're probably wondering why I failed to wait for your answer and just selfishly disappeared, only leaving behind this cowardly note as my means of farewell._

_It's because I already knew that you wouldn't choose to come along with me. You would of never abandoned Rin, especially now that she is grieving for Gakupo. You may have denied it but I know that you are in love with that kid._

_That's why I fled in this pathetic manner because I couldn't bear to have rejection slam me in the face. I love you, Miku, but I accept that you will never learn to share those same emotions towards me. So, I chose this path so that the both of us' last memory of each other will be a peaceful one, not one stained by despair._

_I don't want you to worry about me. This is my dream, remember? I'm positive that the happiness I desire will be discovered by treading this road but there is one last thing I want from you._

_I want you to promise me that you will lead a long and happy life. If that bliss is acheived by having Rin by your side, then I will whole-heartedly approve of that. I just want you to be happy, Miku._

_Love from, your friend, Megurine Luka."_

Teardrops mixed with sorrow and joy fell upon the piece of paper. Wiping her eyes clean, Miku smiled upwards and tenderly murmured, "Thank you for everything, Luka, and I hope you live a happy life, as well."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry that this chapter is short. The next one should definitely be longer because the killer's identity will be revealed (even though the identity of the killer is pretty obvious IMO). **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

After surviving through an adventurous day, complete with death, a departure and a dual confession of love; the next chapter of their tale returned to business as usual, as the two prositutes reverted back to their everyday tasks of granting sexual pleasure to whoever desired their services.

Whilst the tealnette had been busy safely escorting one of her satisfied clients out of the brothel's palace of sin, for a split second she could of sworn that Rin's image had floated in to her line of sight. She knew that was impossible though because Rin was currently hard at work inside the brother's interior.

Vivid memories flashed through Miku's mind, as she recalled how Gakupo's little sister, Gumi, had mistaken Rin for some guy she had met at Miki's birthday party. Some guy who just happened to share the exact same name as Rin's twin brother Len.

When that surge of information had first hit Miku, the shock had rendered her immobile but she had quickly managed to feign normality.

If Rin discovered how Miku had failed to reveal any details about her earlier chance encounter with Len, Miku predicted that her deceit would drive a wedge between them.

So, Miku chose to remain silent on the matter and fooled herself into believing that the 'Len' Gumi had mentioned was just some random lookalike. She didn't really have to try hard because, thanks to all of the stressful events that occurred afterwards, Miku naturally forgot about the 'Len' incident.

However, after witnessing that ghost of an illusion, Miku was forced to remember. At the time, she had found is suspicious that Len had surfaced at the party. He came from a poor family, so he shouldn't have even heard about this party held by the elite and upper class folks.

Plus, if he only wished to reunite with Rin, why go to such troublesome methods? It would of been a simple task to just waltz straight through the brothel's doors and into Rin's outstretched arms.

A horrible idea suddenly popped into her head. What if these 'Len' sightings weren't mysterious one off occurrences. Maybe he had been keeping a close watch on his twin this entire time? Was he stalking Rin and even worse, maybe he was even the culprit behind the recent murders?

From her one and only meeting with Len, Miku couldn't imagine it. The Len she had made contact with was a naive, shrivelling crybaby who cared tremendously for his precious twin sister. Could someone like that really be capable of slaughtering human beings?

Miku was unable to decide on which side her convictions should lie and this troublesome debate waged on in her head 'till the sun melted away into the dead of the night.

* * *

><p>The shrill cries of the night echoed in the depths of Miku's eardrums, as she lay wide awake in her futon. Beside her, she could hear the soothing sounds of Rin breathing in her sleep. Unfortunately, Miku herself couldn't drift off to slumberland because she remained bothered by constant thoughts about Len.<p>

She wanted to confide in Rin about the dark assumptions that had sprung to her mind but she was afraid of what Rin's reaction might be. Rin would surely be angry about the web of lies that Miku had spun around her and besides, without any physical proof, would have every reason to doubt Miku's claims.

If Rin did choose to trust in her lover's words, then the young blonde would definitely jump into the pool of despair, from learning about the possible criminal acts of her beloved brother.

Besides, there was not a trace of evidence to suggest that Len was responsible. Len might actually be an innocent party in all of this, therefore Miku chose to refrain from sharing her baseless speculation.

Instead, she decided that she had to uncover the truth about whether or not Len was capable of murder and so, she quietly rose to her feet and sneaked out of the brothel.

Shivering as the cold air brushed against her flesh, Miku folded her arms close to her chest as she treaded the empty, lifeless streets. Having no idea as to where the Kagamine residence lay, Miku decided to begin her search at the scene of their first encounter.

Reaching the alleyway, the twin-tails danced as Miku carefully examined her surroundings. Not noticing any unusual presences in the vicinity, Miku hesitantly stepped into the deserted alleyway, that sparkled from the radiance of the bright full moon.

Keeping her eyes glued to her gliding shadow, Miku slowly proceeded deeper along this path, comprehending that there was a high chance nobody would rescue her, should she scream her lungs out.

Stopping dead in the centre of the alley, Miku ceased the use of her sense of sight and intently focused all of her strength on her powers of hearing. She heard the rustling of the leaves, as the wind blowed it's chilly breathe towards a tree and the distinct shrieks of a kitty-cat, followed shortly afterwards by aggressive barking.

Unaware of how much time had drifted by, Miku eventually heard the pitter-patter sounds of footsteps approaching. Opening her eyes to the world, she turned around to face the figure who had walked onto the stage and calmly uttered his name.

"Len."

"What a coincidence to run into you here," Len remarked, without halting his ongoing march.

"It's not a coincidence though, is it?" questioned Miku. "You followed me here and for some reason you've been stalking Rin, right? I know because an aquaintence of mine, who goes by the name of Gumi, swears she met you at a party that you wouldn't normally be invited to attend."

The beating sound of palm against palm loudly roared throughout the quiet night, as Len proudly clapped. When Len failed to offer up any other response, Miku resumed speaking.

"You're the murderer, aren't you? The person who killed Dell, Kiyoteru and Gakupo. Why?"

A joyful smirk molded itself on his girly face. "Bravo, bravo. You should quit your job as a whore and become a detective. I'm sure you'd be one of those rare, genius detectives who is able to solve absolutely any mystery, even the supposedly unsolveable ones," the young blonde encouraged, a mocking tone evidently leaking out of his words.

Miku's hard poker face showed no reaction and Len dramatically sighed before returning the devilish simper to his face.

"Yeah, I killed them. It was simple enough. I just patiently followed them until the appropriate opportunity would arise and then, bam! Another one bites the dust. Want to know how I eliminated that worthless samurai? Easy, I just morphed his dreams into an eternal nightmare," Len stated, with a shrug of his shoulders, like it was no big deal.

Miku felt a rush of relief spread throughout her skin, knowing that her instincts were spot on. However, flickers of fear slowly started burning in her heart but she refused to let the seams rip apart now and remained calm in front of this dangerous foe.

Following behind Len's final remark, Miku softly murmured, "Did you kill Gakupo in his sleep?"

"Ha ha, yeah and the best part was I used his own faithful sword to let his blood run dry," Len childishly laughed in glee. "As for why I decided to participate in this amusing sport, it was all for the sake of Rin. Someone needs to be her knight in shining armour and protect her from this vile world," his grin widened and looked as if it might fall off his face.

Narrowing her teal eyes, Miku furiously retorted, "You're not a knight or anything that even remotely resembles a hero! You're the spawn of Satan and all that you have done is cause hell for Rin!"

"I didn't cause Rin to suffer. All I did was exact revenge on the scumbags who had made my Rin cry. They hurt her, so they deserved all of the pain I inflicted on them," shot back Len, his smile not fading away.

"Dell and Kiyoteru may have acted like jerks but they were suffering through their own pain at the time. They became twisted because of their loss," responded Miku, surprised that she was actually defending those two creeps. "I know that doesn't excuse them for harming Rin but still...nobody deserves to die, Len."

"Your preaching is beginning to bore me," he sneered before pulling a knife out of his pocket. "Now be a good girl, number five."

Miku bit her lip, tasting the bitter liquid squeezed out by her teeth, as she attempted to keep a distance from Len. She had stupidly believed that common sense still remained within him and with a bit of logical reasoning, they could erase this evil chapter from Len's life.

The only reason she wished for her original plan to be a success was for Rin. Miku honestly couldn't care less about Len's wellbeing but Rin loved him. That's why Miku had reached her hand out into the abyss of hell, hoping to pull Len out of his wicked ways but all of his purity had already been sucked away and consumed by his taboo lust for the thrilling hunt.

It was only a brief time ago that Len had been a loving human being. Now, the only signs of his past was the shell of his corpse, possessed by a psyhcotic madman. Miku was positive that the vivid red and sickening stench of blood aroused him and now she was terrified of the future. Not her future but the future of her beloved Rin.

"Huh? What do you mean by number five?" Miku inquired, in trepidation, as she just realized the words that had escaped from the blonde's lips.

"Obviously, it means that you will be my fifth kill."

"I don't get it. There was only three victims," she responded, tilting her head to the side.

"I guess you don't know about my father then, huh? He had to pay for selling Rin. The last expression he made was so priceless that i wish he could be revived, just so I can watch his hilarious dying face again," Len joked, while simultaneously bridging the gap between him and Miku.

Lifting her leg up in the air, Miku slammed her foot into Len, catching him off guard. As he groaned in agony the teal head took that as her cue to run and she started sprinting away from the insane boy.

"Hah...hah..." Miku heavily panted as she dashed throughout the neverending alley. "Ah!" her ridiculously high voice yelped out, as she tripped over a loose cobblestone and landed roughly on her hands and knees.

Her body stung and she grimaced at the scraps of flesh that had peeled off of her palms, blood now spilling out. Ignoring her injuries, she tried to hoist herself back up again, when an ominous shadow loomed over her.

Regretfully glancing over her shoulder, Len's blue eyes shined with sadistic lust as he madly grinned down at his prey. The sliver blade glimmered in the luminescent moonlight.

"Thank you for taking care of Rin up 'till now," he sincerely thanked the fragile girl, before he thrusted the dagger in a downward swing. Miku reflexedly forced her vision to soak in the empty darkness of her eyelids and braced herself for the dreadful mortal wound.

Bang! Bang!

"Wha-?"

Something cold and slimly dripped onto the trembling tealnette. When she failed to feel the impact of a sharp object piecing through her soul, she opened her eyes.

Her teal orbs instantly grew as large as saucers because of the image that invaded her mind. The knife was now peacefully relaxing on the stone ground, whilst Len stood frozen, his earlier inhuman expressions replaced with a stupefied look.

His hands desperately clutched at his chest, as his shirt rapidly became contaminated by the foul colour of vicious blood. He soon collapsed, his back landing on the hard surface with an audible 'thud'.

Then Miku noticed the figure who stood a short distance behind Len. The one person Miku treasured with all of her heart, who had since birth, shared an identical face with the teal head's assailant.

"...Rin," Miku sadly whispered.

Rin stood there, her face a mask of horror. Her pale skin was whiter than usual and her face was soaked, with what could only be her tears. In her wavering hands, she tightly gripped a handgun, her finger still on the trigger.

The weapon slowly fell from Rin's grip, making a clanging sound against the ground. That noise seemed to activate a reaction out of Rin and her comatose state ceased as she hurried over to her twin's side.

"Len! Len, please don't die. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wanted to protect Miku but I didn't mean to shoot you. I don't want you to die," Rin fiercely pleaded, as her tears relentlessly rained down upon Len's body, as hiis life continued to evaporate away.

"Rin, did you follow me here?" Miku wondered but her lover ignored her and kept begging her brother to survive.

"Rin...don't apolo...gize," Len coughed out those words, mixed together with his blood. Raising a hand towards her, Rin swiftly grabbed it and allowed his icy hand to embrace her cheek.

"Len, don't talk. You need to conserve your strength," ordered Rin but her command fell on deaf ears.

"This is my...puni...shment. Yo...u should hate...me be...cause I'm a mur...derer," Len gasped out these pitiful words.

"I forgive you, okay? Just please don't die on me," cried Rin.

"I kill...ed father. H...ow can you...be so...for...giving?" Len struggled to mutter his serious question.

"Because I love you! You're my brother, my twin! We're family and families forgive each other no matter what stupid things we do! Don't get me wrong, I hate that you've turned into such a monster but you need to live! You can't leave me here!" the waterfall continued tumbling down.

"Y...you have Mi...ku...you d...don't need m...e anymore," at the sudden recognition, Miku gazed into Len's dying face and noticed that death had already swung it's scythe on his vision because the sadistic eyes had morphed into a vacant gaze aimed at oblivion.

"I know that Len. I'm in love with her but..."

"Goo...dby...e, R...in. I l...ove...y...ou," Len's breath faded away and his hand grew limp in Rin's grasp.

"Len? Len? Len! Hey, Len, don't go saying goodbye. You're not dead, so hurry and wake up! Len, please wake up!"

Miku silently observed as Rin roughly shaked the broken doll. The blonde bird's palms grew sticky with the juice of life and her throat transformed into a violent storm of sobs.

Miku's own heart was cracking from watching her lover's torment and something moist slid down her skin. Unable to bear Rin's shrill begging, Miku rushed over, latching onto the younger girl's shoulders.

Pulling her away from the deceased, Miku shouted, "Rin, stop! He's dead, okay! He's not ever gonna wake up. I'm sorry, Rin but there's nothing that we can do now. It's over."

The tealnette tenderly locked Rin in a warm hug, forcing the blonde to rest her short locks on Miku's chest. The inhumane screams dissipated and turned into hushed drops of rain imploding upon Miku's chest.

All the teal bird could do was dream of a brighter tomorrow. Surely this simple dream wasn't an impossible task for reality to weave.

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><p><strong>AN: The next chapter is the final one and I'm serious this time. I might be able to have it up today but if it's not you'll have to wait until after Christmas. So thanks to everyone who read and thanks to The Queen of Double Standards, OtakuGirl347, madrox23 and AnimeCatMew for being regular reviewers and also thanks to everybody else who has reviewed this before and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Epilogue**

Its been three months since Rin killed Len. As expected from Len's passing, the murders of the brothel's patrons ceased to be and peace settled back to the neighbourhood.

Shortly after those horrific events, Rin and I chose to wave goodbye to our careers as prostitutes. Using the substantial amount of money that we possessed, we found ourselves a small, quaint house to reside in. Unfortunately, as much as I want to reveal the dirty, little secrets to a glorious fairytale esq happily ever after, I can't. Why? Because reality sucks.

On that tragic night, once Rin's cries for her brother had dried up, she had insisted on visiting her home. Just like Len had revealed, we found Rin's father lying facedown in a lake of dried up blood. I spent the rest of that night by Rin's side in that icy room, as mournful raindrops started to pour once again.

Meiko arranged a joint funeral for the two deceased Kagamines that was held a few days later. A bunch of unfamiliar faces to me payed their respects to their lost comrades in a tragically beautiful ceremony.

I had anticipated that Rin would choose to also offer up some final words but instead, she remained eerily silent during the entire service. She'd been in that state ever since the morning after murdering Len. I believed her emotionless manner was just apart of her grief mechanisms and that the usual Rin would soon be restored. I was terribly wrong but more on that later.

In case you're curious about what's become of the surviving members of this tale and how they were affected by Len's ramage then I'm here to spill all the juicy news. If you don't care, then, well, whatever. I'm telling you anyway, so pay close attention.

First up: the Kiyoteru group.

Coincidentally, the same day that I moved out of the brothel was the same day Kaito had popped in for a visit. After the dramatic commotion that had taken place at Miki's birthday party, I hadn't seen even a single thread of Kaito's blue hair since then. So, yeah, I will admit to being more than a little flabbergasted to be reunited with my old friend.

No, he wasn't there for some sleazy thrill. His objection was only a simple chat with me, for old time's sake, before we were due to permenently depart from each others lives.

I learnt from him about how Lily had struggled to come to terms with being a widower and dealing with being a single parent. She still hadn't fully recovered from Kiyoteru's betrayal when the news of his passing had journeyed to her ears but with the guidance of her younger sister, Miki, she somehow found the strength to be strong. If only for the sake of her precious daughter, Yuki.

Miki also eventually forgave Kaito for his lustful ways and the pair gave their relationship a fresh start. Miki's reasoning behind this was simply due to witnessing how Lily would never be able to discover if her marraige could of been salvaged. Miki's heart was still fond of Kaito and so, she allowed Kaito to take baby steps back into her world. Life was too short to bear an angry grudge, after all.

Yeah, I know that there's that classic saying 'once a cheater, always a cheater' but in my honest opinion, I think Miki made the right decision. Because in my brief final chat with the my former flame, I could instantly spot the changes in him. Compared to when he had been my personal favourite client, constantly joking about how much of a delicious fiend he was; the reformed Kaito spoke about his love for Miki in such a sincere and tender manner. I almost thought I was hallucinating because I used to believe that he would remain a dirty, sleezebag for his entire life.

As for the uberly eccentric Yowane Haku, she's still as creepy as ever. She continues to run her weird store and I do drop by occasionally. Actually, there has been a slight change regarding Haku. Not with anything she's done but just with my opinion of her changing from one of tiny fear to one of respect. She's a tough, mature cookie who refuses to allow any hardships to break her down. She kind of reminds me of Meiko. Maybe that's why the've always given me the impression that they were close buddies.

Speaking of Meiko, yup, she still runs the brothel. Of course she had to recruit some new girls to replace the gaps Rin, Luka and I left behind but she frequently comes around to check up on her retired girls.

Gakupo's little sis, Gumi, is another frequent visitor. She especially tends to hang around Rin. Maybe I should be jealous of her or something? She could be attempting to steal Rin away from me. Kidding, kidding...maybe.

Okay, seriously, though, Gumi's pretty much my best friend these days. She knows everything, including what Rin and I used to do to earn a living. Obviously that tidbit of info shocked her but she swiftly made a full recovery and is now a valuable asset.

Personally, I believe that the whole reason Gumi decided to devote part of her time to Rin and I is due to Gakupo. She understood that Rin had been extremly important to her older brother and most likely believes that staying by Rin's side will allow her to remain conected to her deceased brother.

As for my former mentor, I obtained one more letter from her. Reading the elegantly scripted letters, I learnt of how Luka's dream to enjoy a typical, ordinary life had been fufilled. Her penmanship recited tales of the friendships she had formed, the building she know called home and of her occupation as an asssistant to an elderly tailorshop owner.

Near the bottom of the slip of paper was a section devoted to stating her address, should I ever desire to chase after my pink haired pal. I tore that segment out before using my hands to rip it into little, bitty pieces and therefore removing any temptations to abandon my precious, irreplacable Rin. Especially when she needs me most.

You see, Rin's heart had been shut off and she was no longer the same as before. No longer the person who had captured my heart. The fragmented images of seeing her dead twin and father shattered her soul, only leaving behind the pathetic shell of a broken doll.

Nowadays, Rin barely utters a word and fails to express even an inkling of emotion. During the first month after Len's death, she had even refused to swallow a bite of food. That left me with no other option but to shove it down her throat. Thankfully, she now eats, drinks and sleeps like any other person but she still lacks the most important item: her heart.

I have a dream. Throughout my entire existence I have only ever had one serious dream. My childhood dream to be reunited with my long, lost father. That dream faded into dust and my life quickly got sucked into a void, as I had absolutely no goals or aspirations.

Honestly, I still have no clue what I really want to achieve with my life but I am confident about one thing. Rin gave meaning to my life. She wasn't the only one though. Luka, Meiko, Gumi, Kaito, and heck, even Gakupo. I stupidly thought I was all alone but I was surrounded by all these people who cared about me. Thanks to their support, I'm confident that I won't waver from my dream.

What exactly is my dream? I think it's pretty obvious. My dream, my deepest desire is for Rin to regain her senses. I get that my miraculous dream may never shine but even so, I love her. No matter how much my heart may ache and groan, i know that I can withstand this torment of watching my lifeless lover.

Because I'm positive that the cage trapping Rin's heart will one day vanish. When that glorious day occurs, I will be here. The day that Rin can share her pain and shed her tears, knowing that I can be by her side, my will to stay here will never waver.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry if you were expecting a happy ending. I don't really know why but for some reason I tend to make most of my stories end with unhappy endings. Trust me, I do enjoy happy endings but I guess my imagination is kind of sadistic. :P For the people who plan on reading the sequel to I Want To Meet You But I Can't, I don't plan on murdering characters in it and it shouldn't be as sad as this fic. The first chapter should be up before the end of December. :) Anyways, thank you all so much for reading this until the end. ^-^**


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